From one of today’s most exciting new writers comes a story about a smooth-talking man with a rough past, a good heart, and an unexpected opportunity to go legit—one that he plans to take. It’s also the story of the legendary village of Harlem, New York, brimming with vitality, tarnished glory, and ever ready for a fresh start—just like its newest resident landlord…(Read Chapter 1 now!)

Amos Brown knows trouble comes in threes. Right now, he’s down two. First off, he’s got a monkey on his back—Harry the Monkey Chaser, to be exact—a notorious West Indian drug lord. Amos isn’t into drugs, but he’s got a nasty gambling habit, and after losing at poker he owes Harry big-time. Second, Amos’s bride of six months disappeared when his numbers running business went down the drain, so he’s out everything except the kitchen sink. In fact, Amos now has several kitchen sinks. Because the luck that’s forced to him to sell off his worldly possessions has also made him the owner of two Harlem brownstones—willed to him by the father he only met once in his life.

So while Amos is waiting for the next axe to fall, he’ll have to settle into his new life as a landlord amid the fading grandeur of one of the world’s liveliest and longest-suffering neighborhoods. That means dealing with some of 128th Street’s most colorful—and intriguing—characters. There’s Catherine, a restless beauty who may hold the key to Amos’s bruised heart, Seltzer, the pit-bull of a superintendent, and an array of sometimes paying tenants, including Miss Ellie, a former Cotton Club dancer; Wilbur, a flamboyant Texan; and Patty, an impoverished teenage mother. Then there’s one last tenant Amos doesn’t even know he has—until the police come along.

Amos has heard of skeletons in the closet, but apparently he’s got one in his basement. And it belongs to someone closer to his heart—and farther from his memory—than he ever could have guessed. As Amos resolves to put together the pieces of the mysterious discovery, little does he know he will also be putting together the puzzle of his past—and working out his future.