In 1982, at age two, Jonah was abandoned on an isolated Ozark farm by a desperate, young mother. The farm’s sole occupant, an elderly widow, kept him to help her as he aged. He had no birth certificate, recorded fingerprints, DNA or any other kind of traceable identification. He never learned to read or write. At sixteen, his “mother” died and he left the farm.
In 1982, at age two, Jonah was abandoned on an isolated Ozark farm by a desperate, young mother. The farm’s sole occupant, an elderly widow, kept him to help her as he aged. He had no birth certificate, recorded fingerprints, DNA or any other kind of traceable identification. He never learned to read or write. At sixteen, his “mother” died and he left the farm.
He had two assets that would insure a livelihood: a photographic memory and an ability to kill without feeling. His maturing is recorded here as he gradually moves eastward and polishes his two talents, card-counting and murder. Eventually, three million-dollar art thefts and three murders bring him and Hank Tower face to face.
His multi-year journey eastward includes…
Isa Hajjar, a Lebanese casino owner who sees Jonah’s potential as a hired killer and becomes his mentor…
Hetty, a young and beautiful country singer who simultaneously longs for him and fears him, and may be the only person he cares for…
A lawyer who has discovered an unusual way to steal multi-million-dollar art, and requires Jonah’s special talent to accomplish it.
Hank Tower is hired by two clients, an art dealer who wants to avenge his murdered lover and the police who want him as a decoy to catch the killer. At a faux artist’s studio set up on Manhattan’s West Side, Tower awaits the now-fully-grown Deadly Farm Boy, and in a breathless scene their showdown comes within a millisecond of seeing both of them dead.