Tess's boyfriend, Edgar "Crow" Ransome, brings home for the night a homeless teenager, Lloyd, who slashed Crow's tires outside a Baltimore soup kitchen. During dinner Tess suspects that Lloyd has information regarding the recent murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Youssef. After peeling the story out of Lloyd Tess gives his story, sans name, to the local paper, so the authorities will get it secondhand. this causes a ripple affect as suddenly a fellow street kid of Lloyd's is murdered and it causes Lloyd to panic as only he knows the connection. Tess starts to get visits from a sinister trio of law enforcement agents avid to know her source. Crow decides that it would be in Lloyd's best interest for them both to disappear and flees with Lloyd while Tess suffers growing pressure, including the threat of federal jail time.
We read the story as it goes back and forth between Tess & Crow with a couple of side chapters from 2 of the bad guys. Tess is one of my favorite series and I always relish her books. This story wasn't particularily complicated as it focused more on how choosing your path can really affect one's future.