For eleven-year-old Kingie, there are lessons to be learned from drug trafficking. His first job is as a lookout, working from a strategic spot on the hillside slums of Rio. But as he grows older he realises that in order to survive you must also keep a close watch on yourself as well. In her powerful new novel, Patr cia Melo tells of Kingie's life of crime, of his poverty-ridden childhood, how he pursues his dreams and the way he learns to achieve leadership. In his uncertain world, chaos manifests itself as violence and deprivation, whether machine-gun fire, unwanted adolescent pregnancy, or the fraught relationships between servants and their employers. Kingie's path intersects with a network of stories of love, family, crime and power. The plot twists and turns through a compelling tale where rapid-fire language and a sharp sense of humour combine to make this shocking story of a man who would be king.