The New York war veteran and bestselling author Jack Dana has retreated to the island of Torcello in the Venetian lagoon to shake off the dark shadows of past events, including the murder of his uncle Harry and the separation from his great love Kerry. Just as he decides to return to New York and fight for Kerry, he receives a call: Kerry is dead. Jack is convinced that she was also murdered. Has his old adversary, the powerful Abner Brown, picked up his trail again? Jack seeks revenge and takes on a dangerous opponent. In "A Life for a Life," Louis Begley weaves a cat-and-mouse game between Long Island and New York. It is a novel about a man who risks everything to avenge the people he loves.