Book excerpt: In a city hardened by cynicism and repression, comes Jake Santos. A hard edged veteran NYC Detective, who must come face to face with the day he never wished would ever come. Julie Ann Micheals, a young innocent woman in search of a new journey; she sets forth to the bright lights of the big city, looking for a new lease on life. Eusebio Santana, an individual so cold and relentless, to stare at him, is to gaze into the very fabric of death itself. Plagued by his years of wrongful incarceration, Eusebio orchestrates his release with the aid of an outside contractor whose own thirst for bloodshed overshadows his own; they set forth to reclaim the very streets which made him a feared man. With the entire city as their playground, the lives of Jake, Julie and Eusebio become intertwined game pieces as vindication and love become the trajectory for tragedy and triumph, for all three players. As the fall of a city becomes evident, so does the efforts of one man who must choose for the love of his city, the demise of his eluding enemy or for the love of a woman he has barely come to know........