• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 7 to 12

Sixteen-year-old Nick Macklin's life has been divided in two. Before and After. Before his father went to jail, and After.

Before, he was a talented hockey player, an A student, in love with his girlfriend, Sherry, and had the greatest dad in the world, a man who not only was there for him after his mom died of cancer, but who was also a star player for the Vancouver Canucks.

Then the bottom fell out. His father was convicted of murder and given a life sentence for a crime Nick is convinced he didn't commit.

Now living with his dad's agent, the only thing that keeps Nick going is a burning desire to seek justice for his father. Who framed him? And why? Drifting away from everything and everyone who matters, Nick spends his days roaming the city, looking for the bald man with a limp who is the key to answering these questions: the man his father swears planted the evidence that led to his conviction.

Finding him is like looking for a needle in a haystack - until Nick stumbles on a very real clue, an eye-opening revelation that just might save his father... and himself.

Michael Betcherman is an award-winning author and screenwriter. He is the author of the young adult mystery novels Breakaway and Face-off, both published by Penguin Canada. Breakaway was a finalist for the John Spray Mystery Award. Face-Off was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Mystery Award. Michael has numerous writing credits in both dramatic and documentary television. He is also the author/creator of The Daughters of Freya and Suzanne, two groundbreaking online novels that were highly praised by numerous publications, including the Globe and Mail and the UK Guardian. Michael lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife, Claudette Jaiko.

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