Dean Niles had once been the very definition of cool under pressure. A suave, sharp-dressed gangster who knew how to navigate the treacherous underworld of South Shields with ease. His name had commanded respect, his crew had drawn fear, and his reputation had been built on equal parts charm and ruthlessness. But that was twenty-five years ago, in another life, a life Dean had left behind in the dusty corners of memory.
When he walked away, he promised never to return. For two and a half decades, he lived in the illusion of peace, content in his anonymity, convinced he had outrun the ghosts that once haunted him.
But time has a way of pulling people back to the places they least want to go.
Now, with more grey in his hair and weariness in his bones, Dean Niles has found himself drawn back to South Shields, a town that hasn’t forgotten him, even if he had tried to forget it. The streets are the same, the faces familiar, but there’s something darker lurking beneath the surface, a new danger that pulls him back into the world he had abandoned.
As Dean navigates this treacherous landscape once again, he begins to realize that nothing is as it seems. Old alliances shift, hidden agendas come to light, and the line between friend and foe blurs beyond recognition.
As he’s pulled further into a deadly game of survival, Dean is forced to confront the possibility that the greatest betrayal may come from within his own ranks, and in this town, the past isn’t just something you escape, it’s something that follows you, waiting for the right moment to strike.