Harold Thurman and John Holmes couldn't have been more different.

Harold grew up on a farm before moving to the city of San Jose, California with his family in 1917 at the age of 11.

Modesty defined his upbringing, but Harold quietly harbored dreams of wealth he would never pursue.

His five sisters had well-paying careers and comfortable marriages, which left Harold as the family's

outlier.

He drifted in and out of low-paying jobs, ran with the wrong crowd, and bore the weight of his family's disappointment. For Harold, an accusation of criminal behavior wouldn't

have surprised anyone. John Holmes was two years older than Harold, and John's family had moved to San Jose

two years before Harold's family. John's father owned a popular tailor shop, and he sent John to

San Jose High School, where John initially thrived. John was a tall, clean-cut football star,

who embodied promise. But his temper caused a heated argument with a tall, clean-cut football star who embodied promise, but his temper caused a heated

argument with a teacher and got him kicked out of school. His expulsion could have derailed

him completely, but it didn't. John landed a job at an electronic store, and by the age of 20, he was

married with kids on the way. At 24 in 1928, John appeared to

settle into family life. But then he made a radical change which sent his life down a different path.

He left his job and relocated his family to the scenic coastal town of Half Moon Bay.

Half Moon Bay was nestled between San Francisco to the north and San Jose to the south,

and it became a smuggler's paradise.

During the first eight years of the Prohibition era,

Half Moon Bay had developed into an outlaw haven for boats transporting illegal alcohol.

John worked at a local gas station, which perfectly positioned him to meet smugglers who told

sensational stories of their criminal exploits.

Through the romanticized stories of the smugglers, John became fascinated by a life of crime.

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