An eleven-year-old knows where the mob buried a senator. He can't tell anyone.
Who drives the story
An eleven-year-old Memphis kid with a street survivor's instincts, holding a secret that could get him killed. He lies to the FBI, takes the Fifth, escapes detention, and trades the secret for his family's new life.
A fifty-ish recovering alcoholic who left big-firm law to protect children, hired for one dollar. She shields Mark from the FBI and the mob, then reveals the body's location only after the family's plane leaves.
Mark's eight-year-old brother, who witnesses Clifford's suicide and goes catatonic. His hospitalization makes the family vulnerable and his recovery shapes their escape.
Mark's divorced mother, holding the family together in a trailer park. She loses her home to arson and her sweatshop job, and ends the book flying toward a new identity.
The mob hitman suspected of killing Senator Boyette, who told Clifford where the body is buried. His men dig for it and burn the Sways out.
The New Orleans lawyer whose drunken suicide in the Memphis woods hands Mark the fatal secret. He dies in the first chapter but drives everything that follows.
The FBI's Deputy Director, who cuts the deal: the body's location for Witness Protection. He gets the answer only after the plane lifts off.
Also in the story
The flamboyant New Orleans U.S. Attorney, 'Reverend Roy,' who preaches to juries and wants the body for his political ambitions. He pressures Mark and schemes to pierce Reggie's privilege.
The no-nonsense Memphis Juvenile Court judge who reluctantly detains Mark for his own protection and presides over his silence.
A hired private investigator working for the mob, who corners Mark in a hospital stairwell and threatens to kill him and his family if he talks.
How they are connected
She shields Mark from the FBI and the mob, then reveals the body's location only after the family's plane leaves.
Mark's eight-year-old brother, who witnesses Clifford's suicide and goes catatonic.
Mark's eight-year-old brother, who witnesses Clifford's suicide and goes catatonic.
Mark's divorced mother, holding the family together in a trailer park.
He pressures Mark and schemes to pierce Reggie's privilege.
He pressures Mark and schemes to pierce Reggie's privilege.
Barry 'The Blade' MuldannoJerome Clifford
The mob hitman suspected of killing Senator Boyette, who told Clifford where the body is buried.
The New Orleans lawyer whose drunken suicide in the Memphis woods hands Mark the fatal secret.
Judge Harry RooseveltMark Sway
The no-nonsense Memphis Juvenile Court judge who reluctantly detains Mark for his own protection and presides over his silence.
A hired private investigator working for the mob, who corners Mark in a hospital stairwell and threatens to kill him and his family if he talks.
Go deeper
The price of a secret · Law as armor for the powerless · Institutions chasing glory · Family as the only safe ground
Themes explainedThe full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.
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