Its geography was ideal and the rum lords made New Brunswick the smugglers' capital of North America. When the liquor tankers known as Rum Row disappeared, big-timers ran into Shediac, Buctouche, and Bay Chaleur more liquor than in all other provinces combined - and almost as much ran out again to quench a thirsty America. One body of outmoded Federal law controlled the making, the carrying, and the sale of liquor in Canada; and here, as elsewhere, another body of useless law tried to control its use. On Ottawa's side were Customs Officers, awkwardly managed and sometimes corrupt, while in Fredericton was a corps of liquor inspectors so incompetent that law-breakers laughed. And soon the Provincial Police force collapsed in disrepute. When the booze-laden cars roared through the night, there was almost nothing to stop them. Crime flourished and Prohibition gang-wars became public entertainment. When Rum was King chronicles this period in all its richness. This was a time when the Premier of New Brunswick was part owner of a rum-running ship and a United Church minister became boss of the province's liquor stores.