In this powerful look at the underside of life in an unnamed city on one of the Great Lakes, a young man who has recently been released from a six-year stint in prison finds employment in a Syrian-owned locksmith shop. What unfolds is a riveting account of a man's quest to reinvent himself, to find grace, family and community in a sordid, decaying world. It is also a beautifully crafted crime novel marked by indelible observations, mysterious obsessions and an appreciation of the techniques, tools and hazards of a locksmith's life. A great book' - Gordon Lish'