It's the late sixties and a juvenile delinquent runs amok on Detroit's east side, waging war against the city's small-time drug dealers. Until he robs Busta, a major kingpin, thus dragging his midwestern family into his war. Frank and Martha McCants, attempting to raise their eight sons in an urban setting, with limited resources, find themselves struggling with a lost son and a conflict with Busta, a giant of a man with no conscience.

The history of a midwestern urban landscape is examined under a microscope during the trials and tribulations of Michael's journey.

The McCants family odyssey covers the urban reformation of the sixties, the Vietnam War, Detroit's infamous riots, vigilantism, organized crime, higher education, wealth disparity, classism, love, and street violence. The rivalry between an innocent family and a major drug kingpin is the primary focus of the story. As with most wars, only one side can win.

Besides these external forces, the parents of the family have one internal problem beyond their financial woes - they have eight children with only enough room in their hearts for seven. The question is: where does this leave Michael?

MICHAEL is the first of a series of novels covering the McCants family as they traverse the white waters of a northern American city. This multi-genre novel may require seatbelts. And perhaps a box of tissue for the sensitive reader.