UNKNOWN

Inside every man is a thirteen-year-old itching to escape.

Four lifelong friends, all turning 50, embark on a cross-country road trip on U.S. 50 in the tight quarters of a 32-foot RV. The drug cartel is on their tail... although they don't know it.

Byron, Frank, Peter, and Ray have been friends since middle school in the 60s, back when blowing stuff up was the Super Glue of their (unbreakable?) friendship. They're still exceedingly good at annoying each other.

In this (finally!) coming-of-age adventure, old rivalries resurface. A cavalcade of leather-clad women on Harleys becomes a recurring distraction. And two men of dubious competence, assigned by the drug lord, try to steal a CD containing precious data the guys unknowingly possess.

The FBI soon joins the chase, as well as two brothers, truck stop clerks who believe one of the guys has the winning Powerball lottery ticket.

For each of the friends, the off-course road trip delivers unexpected self-discovery, especially for Byron, enamored of a redheaded biker.

Will the friendships survive the road trip hazards...or blow up? Because, of course, stuff blows up! Gloriously!

Pat Partridge writes across genres. He is the author of the mystery Fragile Memories, the sequel, Buried at Bears Ears, and the humorous road-trip novel Fast on Fifty. His book of political humor, now in its third edition, has sold 70K copies. Over the past three years he has won eleven awards from the League of Utah Writers for his short fiction and novel first chapters. His story The New Dress, which first appeared in LitroUK, received the Emeral Award for the best short work across all categories. Recently, his short fiction has appeared in Remington Review, The Haven, Fabula Argentea, Ariel Chart, Litro, and multiple anthologies. He is pleased others find his writing worth reading.