Emerson James used to be a dangerous man, but you'd never know it. To everyone who knows him now, he is the distinguished Dr. James, respected professor, scholar, and lecturer. To accomplish this, he had to change his life completely. Thirteen years ago, after participating in unspeakable violence, Emerson left Chicago and never looked back, escaping into the world of academia. Since then, he has desperately avoided anything connected to his former existence. But he is about to learn that you can't run from your past forever. When tragedy strikes, he is forced to return home, and, no matter how hard he tries, going unseen is not an option. As one of the infamous "James Boys," a family name synonymous with one of Chicago's most dangerous street gangs, people constantly seek to test him. Soon he discovers that the longer he stays, the more his life is in jeopardy-from enemies, old friends, his own family, and a new breed of street gangster who would love to make a name by taking him down. On top of that, there is someone waiting in the shadows-a patient killer seeking revenge who has just one question: How do I make them pay? As the bodies start piling up, Emerson begins to realize that a string of gruesome murders connect back to him. Now, whether he wants to or not, in order to discover who is killing the people he once knew, he must again embrace the violence he grew to abhor. And the more he looks into their deaths, the more he recognizes that a complex message is being laid out for him by a vicious killer who not only wants his attention, but his life.