WHAT ABOUT THIS (Still needs tidying up):

Behind the Hood – Synopsis. (Previously known as Hear Speak See No Evil).

“Tama could hear sirens in the distance. Although it was the music of his neighbourhood, he knew the pigs would soon be performing in his dead-end street.”

Behind the Hood tells the events that follow the stabbing of Maia Daniels and the effect it has on the attacker's and victim's loved ones. Told from different viewpoints, this gritty novel is a tale of gangs, violence, abuse, drugs, sex—and revenge. This is realism at its most gruesome where happy endings are but a myth in the slums of Auckland (New Zealand).

Tama Harris, a selfish and arrogant gang leader, has had a long standing feud with Nike Daniels since high school. When Nike’s sister, Maia walks past him and his gang late at night he sees both a sexual conquest and a means to vent his anger. A chase entails, which ends in Tama stabbing Maia. He then goes on the run, leaving behind his mentally unstable mother and his little sister, Caitlin.

Nike Daniels, a loyal husband and young father, is struggling to keep his family afloat financially and has fallen into couriering drugs to support them. After finding out about his sister’s attack he sets out after Tama and is not afraid to use violence on Tama’s friends in his need to protect his family.

Maia Daniels, a tough and smart-mouthed fourteen-year-old, survives the stabbing, but is tormented by nightmares of Tama and the knowledge that the boy she likes, Mikey, was involved in her attack.

Mikey Thomas, Tama’s cousin and the youngest gang member, has been sexually and physically abused by his mother for a number of years. He is loyal to Tama but is racked with guilt over his involvement in the attack. After Tama’s mother commits suicide Mikey is pushed too far when he discovers that his mother will become Caitlin’s guardian.

Jess Daniels, Nike’s wife, has long been someone Tama has desired and will do anything to get. She is the only person that can reel in her husband. When she is raped by Tama, Nike loses control which escalates into in a violent showdown between Nike and Tama at Tama’s mother’s funeral.

Novel length is approximately 100,000 words.

This is the first book in a planned series.

**For the cover I would like an image of the back of Tama's tattooed head with his hood down.

Thanks, Pam. Much appreciated. No late night, yeh!

my, what a much more concise synopsis you now have.
All the better to neatly convey your story with, my dear. Back to my roots.

a chase 'ensues' rather than a chase 'entails'

Otherwise it is much clearer than the first version, particularly for someone like me who hasn't read the actual chapters.

Thanks, MLT and RobertB. Unfortunately I had already sent the synopsis in before I got your messages, so I couldn't change anything. Damn that "entail." But I appreciate you guys reading it. I'll fix it up, though, before I send out at the manuscript, which hopefully will be off my hands by September.