The Hurdler

On the blood-stained streets of a ruthless American city, the fight for survival takes on a meaning unknown in the cushy suburbs just a few miles away. Working the drug corners and back alleys, Shadeed “Deed” Fleetwood deals rock and blow to the endless stream of customers. All the while, he harbors bigger dreams – dreams of competing for glory on the world stage.

But the underworld figures who rule the streets aren’t interested in Deed’s dreams – they’re interested in cash, cars and women. And they’ll do whatever it takes to keep their stranglehold on the forlorn city – even if it means innocents fall in the crossfire.

Deed also harbors a secret, one that could bring down the baddest of the bad: Kareem Payton, a.k.a. “Pay Day,” the charismatic killer and drug lord whose past intertwines with Deed’s by threads that can’t be unwound, only violently torn. The threads also connect Pay Day’s younger brother Tony “Tone Bone” Payton, Deed’s best friend since they were toddlers.

When the thirst for profit launches a street war for Pay Day’s lucrative turf, the resulting bloodshed brings Deed face to face with a life-changing decision. It also brings him face to face with Sgt. Al Peoples and Detective Eddie “E-Rod” Rodriguez, who are trying to solve a murder mystery that has haunted the city for years. Does Deed remain loyal to Pay Day and the crew? Or does he make a break - and risk all? Besides his own fate, he holds in his hands the fate of his girlfriend Tyesha and their young son.

His decision forces him into a whole new life; new, but not without its own perils. And the streets don’t let go easily – revenge can be as deadly a motivator as money. Once again, violence shatters Deed’s world and thrusts him into unfamiliar territory. There, he meets Reggie Nguyen. Reggie recognizes something special in Deed – traits that could propel him beyond his past to lofty heights available only to the truly gifted.

But it’s a long, hard road and the hurdles Deed faces, though less deadly than the ones back home, are equally daunting. They will require new kinds of strength and bravery, defined much differently than on the street.

And the streets have a long memory – they are not inclined to forgive and forget. In a fight to survive, in a place where the blood of the innocent runs together with the blood of the damned, can Deed outrun his pursuers – and his past?