You have to play to win in a game of life and death

Danni had to grow up fast – as a girl, her mother left her alone and she had to raise herself, any way she could. Finding comfort and company in the pubs and clubs of her local streets, she could throw a dart before she was old enough to buy a drink. Hustling at darts was a way to earn a quid – but it also brought her to the attention of local gangster, Marco Reece.

When Danni escapes Marco with a bag of money and a scar that means she won’t go near a dart again, she knows she’s lucky to be alive – and leaves behind everywhere and everyone she’s ever known.

Only when she hears Marco has been sent down does she risk surfacing. Can Danni pull off one last hustle to set her up for good? One match to change everything. But the clock is ticking, and Danni is on dangerous ground. The arrows gave her a life – but they can take it away again too…

‘The Northern Martina Cole. Karen Woods writes about Manchester with a pageturning fierceness.’ Melanie Blake

‘Wow! Karen Woods has delivered a gripping read full of grit and with characters to keep you turning the pages. And that ending! I didn’t see that coming at all. Loved it. 5 huge stars from me.’ Caz Finlay, author of the Bad Blood series

Karen Woods started her career as a novelist after an adult literacy course aged 39. Since then she’s written 29 novels about her native Manchester, writing with true grit about the dark side of the city and drawing on her own life story. She works in a school for excluded pupils and campaigns to spread the transformative power of reading and writing in under-served communities.