Ava O'Neil grew up within the embrace of New York City's most infamous Irish gang, The Westies. Her father was the Roofer, named for his penchant for throwing enemies from the rooftops of Hell's Kitchen tenements. Raised by her father and two members of his crew, Ava and her brother witnessed events of violence and torment, as well as moments of loyalty and dignity.When journalist Jack Casey comes looking for Ava, determined to profile her father -- and to uncover the trail of a cold-case murder -- Ava is equally determined to keep her family's darkest secrets hidden. But when the magazine article is published, she is shocked by the impact of seeing the life she accepted as normal committed to public scrutiny. Then Hollywood's most famous director of mob movies decides to base a film on the Roofer's life. Suddenly gangsters and thugs are interacting with Hollywood's A-list.Caught up in this world, Ava finds herself in an intense love affair with the lead actor from the movie. Yet their relationship, taking them from New York City to Las Vegas to Los Angeles, is threatened by another murder from the past, far more twisted than anything on film. Ava knows that the secrets will either destroy her or free her and, either way, they will cost her almost everything.The Roofer is an intimate glimpse of a family bound by murder and the mob, taking readers from Irish wakes and funerals to family dinners marred by violence. It is an unflinching and unsparing look at life within the criminal underbelly of New York, and it is the story of one woman's journey as she struggles to break free from the only life she has ever known. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.