The Prohibition era (1920-1933) gave rise to a new generation of romantic "characters" - the flapper, the private eye, the organized crime boss and the bootlegger. One such bootlegger, pioneering rum runner Bill McCoy, earned the name "The Real McCoy" because he always delivered uncut, undiluted gin, rum and whiskey to his happy patrons. A teetotaler himself, this "gentleman crook" nevertheless fuelled the Roaring Twenties by smuggling more than one million bottles of illegal alcohol from the Caribbean to New York. McCoy's maritime daring and willful defiance of the unpopular 18th Amendment and government authority made him a household name during the era and earned him a Robin Hood-like mystique with the American public. Based on the book by Frederick Van de Water, THE REAL MCCOY recounts the extraordinary life and legendary exploits of this man who personified the tumultuous times in which he lived. The film charts McCoy's transformation from modest boat builder to public enemy number one through archival materials, historic re-enactments and interviews with noted scholars.