How far will a father go to save his son? A page-turning story of rebellion, greed, and the high price of a second chance from ''one of the finest crime writers in America'' THE TIMES.

Hidden beneath the floorboards in a house he''s remodeling, Christopher Flynn discovers something very tempting - and troubling. Summoning every bit of maturity and every lesson he''s learned the hard way, Chris leaves what he found where he found it and tells his job partner to forget it, too. Knowing trouble when he sees it - and walking the other way - is a habit Chris is still learning.

Chris''s father, Thomas Flynn, runs the family business where Chris and his friends have found work. Thomas is just getting comfortable with the idea that his son is grown, working, and on the right path at last. Then one day Chris doesn''t show up for work-and his father knows deep in his bones that danger has found him. Although he wishes it weren''t so, he also knows that no parent can protect a child from all the world''s evils. Sometimes you have to let them find their own way home.