Sixty seconds in an elevator with the dead, deciding whether to kill.
Who drives the story
A fifteen-year-old boy carrying his dead brother's pistol and the three rules that came with it. He wants revenge; sixty seconds with the dead leave him holding a gun and a question he can't answer.
Will's older brother, killed two nights before the story begins, the source of the rules Will lives by. He boards the elevator last, whispers the killer's name, and asks Will to live instead.
Shawn's friend and mentor, shot and killed years ago, the first ghost to board. He points out the safety is on and that Will doesn't actually know who killed his brother.
Will's childhood friend, killed by a stray bullet at eight while teaching him a handshake. She asks the question that hangs over the whole book: what if you miss?
Also in the story
Will's uncle, killed in a drug deal gone wrong, who once took revenge himself. He followed the rules and died anyway, proof the code doesn't deliver.
Will's father, dead since Will was a toddler, who tried to avenge his own brother and was killed for it. He shows Will the cycle goes back generations.
A neighbor killed in a drive-by on her own stoop, hit by a bullet meant for someone else. She makes Will face the innocent people his bullet could find.
How they are connected
Will's older brother, killed two nights before the story begins, the source of the rules Will lives by.
Shawn's friend and mentor, shot and killed years ago, the first ghost to board.
He points out the safety is on and that Will doesn't actually know who killed his brother.
Will's childhood friend, killed by a stray bullet at eight while teaching him a handshake.
Will's uncle, killed in a drug deal gone wrong, who once took revenge himself.
Will's father, dead since Will was a toddler, who tried to avenge his own brother and was killed for it.
She makes Will face the innocent people his bullet could find.
Go deeper
The rules of retaliation · The cycle of violence · Collateral damage · Grief and the silence around it
Themes explainedThe full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.
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