Meet Polly: eleven years old and smart beyond her years. But she's a loner, always on the outside, until she is unexpectedly reunited with her father.

Meet Nate: fresh out of jail and driving a stolen car, Nate takes Polly from the safety of her quiet existence into a world of robbery, violence and the constant threat of death.And he does it to save her life.

A Lesson in Violence is a gripping and emotionally wrenching novel that upends even our most long-held expectations about heroes, villains and victims. Nate takes Polly to save her life, but in the end it may very well be Polly who saves him.