Fool s Gold / Albert DiBartolomeo

Paul Fante once made a mistake in judgment, a small error that indebted him to the mob and ended tragically. A wood-worker based in South Philadelphia, he lives alone, reluctant to involve another person in his past. But when he meets Claire Lawrence, a sympathetic woman with her own secrets, Paul feels his emotions reawaken. Meanwhile, Benny Bean has a score to settle – a score that involves Paul Fante, though he doesn’t know it yet. Benny’s looking for some gold coins he lifted from a nice house in South Jersey, the biggest score of Benny’s life as a small-time thief and enforcer for Freddy Whale, a loan shark. But now the coins are gone and Benny will do anything to get them back. Soon Paul Fante faces a desperate dilemma, the same choice that once wrecked his life. Paul’s choice triggers a deadly game of scams and counter-scams, matching him against men who do this for a living – and who hate to lose.