A teen boy has to fight for the life he wants against overwhelming odds in this heartfelt young adult novel.

Fourteen-year-old Joseph Flood is the victim of his mother Betty's addictions to crack and alcohol. An African American boy living in a North Carolina ghetto neighborhood, Joseph has little chance for survival if his soldier father doesn't come home soon from Iraq to sort out the mess Betty has gotten them in.

Living in a shelter and being bussed to yet another new school, Joseph's life looks like it's hitting rock bottom. He's afraid to leave his mother, but he knows he needs to find his own path before it's too late.