What better place to hide a collection of priceless jewels than among the glitter and ostrich feathers of Rio's Carnival parade? The film-director narrator suddenly finds himself the custodian of such a valuable horde after the nocturnal visit of a young dancer who is soon found murdered.

For eleven-year-old Kingie, there are lessons to be learned from drug trafficking. His first job is as a lookout, working on the hillside slums of Rio de Janerio. But as he grows older he realises that in order to survive you must also keep a close watch on yourself as well. In her powerful new novel, Patricia Melo tells of Kingie's life of crime, of his poverty-ridden childhood, how he pursues his dreams and the way he learns to achieve leadership. In his uncertain world, chaos manifests itself as violence and deprivation, whether machine-gun fire, unwanted adolescent pregnancy, or the...