Ramon Santiago, a fourteen-year-old street kid and poet, records his thoughts in a notebook. He is skilled with words and skilled with his knife, when needed. Alone, he wants to join a street gang to be macho, but to prove himself, he must rob an elderly artist down on his luck, Arnold Glasser. Glasser, as desperate as Ramon, is unafraid of Ramon's knife.

From their mutual pain, an unorthodox friendship grows between them. But the gang is just a step behind Ramon, demanding loyalty above all else.

"Grit, suspense, warmth, and wry humor."-Kirkus Reviews