In early 1960s Detroit, a teenage basketball star faces disillusionment in his quest for glory, in this "knockout" novel by the author of The Car Thief (The Boston Globe).

Fifteen-year-old Dale Wheeler, the son of an unemployed, alcoholic autoworker, hopes to lead his team to the City League basketball championship. But his dream is shattered when he is cut to make way for the son of a big-money team sponsor.

His life in a tailspin, Wheeler finds inspiration in Miss Furbish, the beautiful homeroom teacher whose well-meaning kindness gradually builds into a potentially dangerous passion. But at his lowest, he gets one final shot at his dream: a hardscrabble team of street-ballers that may have what it takes to win.

"Full of a life so real you can reach out and touch it." —Scott Turow, #1 New York Times–bestselling author

"An extraordinary writer." —Richard Yates, New York Times–bestselling author of Revolutionary Road