Three Lives - Book Review

For most of us, one life is enough. Imagine having three. Nicholas Gambit did. One man, three very different reasons for being. 

Almost graduated from University and soon to leave a Kansas City ghetto he can't wait to get away from, Nicholas is drawn into a conflict he wants no part of. His world crashing down around him, surrounded by violence, he learns he has some very special talents. Even with those talents, he finds he can't protect everyone and when the nightmare is finally over, he is consumed. He is devoid of purpose, inconsolable, lost. 

Upon observing how Nicholas conducts himself, and what he is capable of, agent John Wilkes devises a new purpose for him. He soon invites his protege to enlist in a program few know exists. Too emotionally drained to see that it is a mistake, Nicholas allows himself to be secreted away into a life that he thinks will give his existence meaning and pit him against those who place themselves above the law. Instead, he finds himself at war with his own principles fearful he will become the enemy he has sworn to fight. 

In the course of the transformation from artless college student to inconceivably skilled government operative, Nicholas finds love where it is forbidden, is made into a cold-blooded murderer, and ultimately seeks out redemption by allowing another a chance to rediscover her own humanity.