It's 1950 in New Orleans and the town smolders with mysteries, mobsters, Jazz, and secrets. Jose is a smart girl who has suffered some hard knocks. She is the daughter of a brothel prostitute who doesn't give two cents about her. Josie longs for a better life. She meets a girl in the book store who tells her all about Smith College. Josie wants more than anything to leave The Big Easy and start a new life at Smith College where no one knows who or what her mother does for a living. But when her mother and mobbed-up boyfriend get tangled in a murder investigation, Josie is torn. Should she stay and help her absent, abusive mother or follow her dreams? "Out of the Easy" is another well-written and compelling book by Ruta Septys.