First published 1993
Maximilian Nutmeg works the streets as a petty hustler, scraping by on small cons and minor theft. His world shifts when he discovers a wallet belonging to Loretta Spokeshave. Everything in his nature tells him to keep it, to take whatever cash and cards he can find and disappear. But something stops him. Instead of following his usual pattern, Nutmeg makes an uncharacteristic decision to track down Spokeshave and return what belongs to her. This single act of unexpected honesty sets off a chain of events that forces Nutmeg to confront who he really is beneath the hustler's facade. The choice between easy money and doing right becomes the catalyst for examining a life built on shortcuts and deception. Heinemann explores the moment when a small moral decision opens the door to larger questions about redemption and change.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, crime, contemporary
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: moral-choice, redemption
Setting: Lake
Period: Contemporary
256 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books