April 1980. A Southern California bank robbery is about to spiral into violence no one can control.

Tony Gonzalez never meant to raise his younger brother. But when Joey shows up with nowhere else to go, Tony takes him in — and straight into the orbit of Nate, a charismatic drifter building something dangerous in the desert: guns, stolen cash, and apocalyptic dreams.

As tensions rise and loyalties fracture, a reckless plan ignites a chain reaction that will tear through the town of Cordero and into the surrounding hills.

Katie Harrison wants out of Cordero as badly as Tony does. Together, they might have one chance to escape — if Tony can keep Joey alive long enough to take it.

Inspired in part by the real 1980 Norco shootout, Cordero is a tightly written 35,000-word California crime novella about loyalty, brotherhood, and the split-second decisions that turn desperation into catastrophe.

For readers of hard-edged, character-driven crime fiction in the tradition of Elmore Leonard and Don Winslow.

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