Andrew Vachss, author of the popular Burke series, sets up what may be his next blockbuster saga with this tale of a group of homeless men who somehow manage to productively coexist despite the fact that they each harbor a myriad of debilitating social and psychological issues. The leader of the band is Ho, a Japanese sensei who has sworn off all worldly possessions, and other members include; Ranger, a frequently deranged Vietnam vet; Michael, a former stock broker who gambled away a fortune; Lamont, an ex-gang banger and street poet; Target, a misfit with a crippling case of echolalia; and Brewster, an obsessive who hoards old detective novels. When Brewster's decrepit library of pulp mysteries is threatened with demolition, Ho and his crew must take another step towards redemption by protecting their friend's collection at all costs.

Abandoning his duties as a sensei after his reckless arrogance causes the death of a protTgTe, the war-weary Ho slowly attracts a motley band of followers before launching a desperate blackmail scheme that is complicated by the planned destruction of a building.

Abandoning his duties as a sensei after his reckless arrogance causes the death of a protTgTe, the war-weary Ho slowly attracts a motley band of followers before launching a desperate blackmail scheme that is complicated by the planned destruction of a building.

Abandoning his duties as a sensei after his reckless arrogance causes the death of a protTgTe, the war-weary Ho slowly attracts a motley band of followers before launching a desperate blackmail scheme that is complicated by the planned destruction of a building.

Abandoning his duties as a sensei after his reckless arrogance causes the death of a protTgTe, the war-weary Ho slowly attracts a motley band of followers before launching a desperate blackmail scheme that is complicated by the planned destruction of a building.