Publisher's Synopsis
Lured by his uncle's tales of exciting life in the big city, farm boy, Harry Fassbender, runs away to seek his fortune. He is quickly disillusioned and faced with starvation, he turns to acts of brutal crime. He is caught and sentenced to hang. Terrified, he's offered a chance of freedom by the mysterious Kornikov. Immediately, his life is transformed. As Kornikov's apprentice, Harry is slowly but surely given wealth and power, even as he slowly loses what little claim he had to decency to start with. Eventually, he sees Kornikov for what he really is and for what he, himself, has become. When all seems lost, Harry is given one last chance to redeem himself.
