My Aunt Polly is a novel based on a colorful real life character that lived in the author's birthplace, Sedalia, Missouri, a rough, bawdy railroad town, in 1919. Abandoned as a child, Polly Martin was raised by her loving but impoverished aunt, who lived in the heart of Sedalia's infamous red light district. Polly went to bed each night with an empty stomach, yet across Main Street, in a thriving brothel, rich food and drink were bountiful. After graduating high school, she vowed to never want again; prostitution was her ticket. Following a series of bloody, devastating events, Polly seized an opportunity to open her own house. She quickly achieved wealth, power, and social status. Corrupt local police turned their heads, but federal officers arrested her for violating prohibition laws. Polly was arrested, tried, and sentenced to prison. Was she wrong? Did she have a choice? You be the judge.