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British author Muir chronicles his protagonist James’s life, bleakly observing how some groups are more highly valued than others in contemporary British society. Incarcerated, James is offered a bid at freedom if he works on a covert parapolice team charged with scaring young hoodlums straight, which often involves the less-than-legal delivery of prompt physical punishment. From the first chapter, the reader has a sense that James’s course is not going to turn out well for him. James is a dark, complex character, tough and resourceful, and yet at times sentimental. He is often only a bystander to the brutality inflicted by others, yet he can be callous, too. Though the story is too long and gets bogged down in too much detail, Muir’s book is thought-provoking. [em](BookLife) [/em]