The son of a Syrian merchant and a Mexican nurse, George Hatcher left Douglas, Arizona with his mother to start a new life in East Los Angeles at the age of ten. As a young boy, he quickly learned the art of fitting in-a skill that would serve him well as he continually reinvented himself throughout his life. Whether mingling with lawyers, gamblers, gang members, hookers, or politicians, George's ability to adapt became his ultimate survival tool.

But George was never content with mere survival; he always aspired for more. As he grew, he developed a grand vision for his life, one that demanded everything to be bigger, brighter, shinier, and glossier. This is the story of one boy's treacherous uphill journey to an ambitious life, taken one determined step at a time.

Like the vivid characters of Los Angeles who sprang to life in his imagination, George Hatcher emerged from the competitive barrios of East Los Angeles, living at least two lifetimes before his twentieth birthday. As a ten-year-old bilingual boy fresh off the bus in Los Angeles, he introduced his Spanish-speaking mother to the man who would become his stepfather. He pursued business ventures and romantic interests with equal fervor, marrying three times in his first two decades. George lived by one unwavering truth: he never settled.

With the adventurous heart of a gambler, a gift for storytelling, and an uncanny ability to reinvent himself, Hatcher climbed the ladder of success with dubious results, often falling back but always fighting his way onward and upward.