Jose Cantino has no family as he grew up in an orphanage, eventually settling on the docks of Tampico, Mexico. Although just a boy, he quickly learns to sustain by filleting the day's catch for foreign tourists. He evolves into a deckhand and eventually a boat captain. His life takes a drastic turn when he finds out that the fishing charter that he works for is actually a front for one of Mexico's largest drug cartels. Out of loyalty and respect for Eduardo Robles - the kingpin of the organization, he becomes a drug runner. Although he's the cartel's rising star, things suddenly go south as the U.S. Navy is hot on his trail. Forced into retirement, he leaves Tampico and the cartel and moves to the Pacific side where he starts his own distribution network from the mainland to the Baja. After his first successful run, he does something that he promised he would never do. He falls in love. As he quickly changes his ways and finds a higher calling with the help of his fiancé, his past catches up to him as warrants are issued for his arrest: Drug smuggling, conspiracy, and even murder! As Cantino runs for his life from special agent Jack Hardlow and the DEA, everything he has worked for is suddenly compromised, including his love, Lucy. As his options dwindle, he is forced to do what he never thought he would have to do: return to Tampico until the dust settles. But it never does. With its cliffhanging chapters, vibrant characters, ironic themes, and twisting directions, An Ocean Away confirms that Mike Aldridge is an up and coming contender in the writing world.
