" The best novel about armed robbery ever written" from the Reservoir Dogs actor and ex-con author of No Beast So Fierce (James Ellroy). Troy was born in Beverly Hills but raised in the prisons of Southern California. Two days before his parole from reform school, a run-in with a young black tough threatens to derail his release. He prepares to fight, ready to sacrifice freedom to maintain his reputation, but a friend comes to his rescue. Armed with two razor blades, Mad Dog takes out Troy's assailant, allowing his friend to go free. Troy does not forget the debt. Years later, Mad Dog makes a living on penny-ante heists, and Troy—who has grown into one of the smartest hoods in L.A.—is about to finish a stint in San Quentin. They join up with another old friend, Diesel Carson, and launch a spree vicious enough to put them in jail for the rest of their lives. But these three would rather die than return to prison.