The main character, Steve West, or Ghost as his friends call him, lives a wild ride of a life. Raised by his single father, an old world Hungarian, and by the streets themselves, Steve is in for something, to be sure. After living in military schools for a number of years it finally comes to be that Steve lives at home in the Bronx with his dad. But his father works nights and the routine for this boy, at age 15, is anything but safe. Teens tend to feel they are invincible though and so Steve gets into things at every turn. Fights, stickball, basketball, girl trouble, school trouble, ‘hood trouble, house parties, drug dealers, and numerous dangerous situations all leave a mark on Steve in some way. Not every mark is bad as he has people who care about him, a musical inclination that exudes from his pores, an interest and respect for all kinds of people and a loving father who would do just about anything for him. Steve’s past haunts him and even with a special girl at his beck and call he loses himself in the dangers of being a street kid. He has choices to make and sometimes he makes the wrong one. Will he be able to save himself? No one can do it for him. Steve doesn’t stare into the eyes of danger, but it seeks him out nonetheless. In this first novel from Stephen A. Welles, the author draws heavily on his own youth in the Bronx with the sounds and feelings of the streets from a very vibrant early 1970's in New York.
