What happens to the children that the world throws away? They become Animals. Tayshawn Torres is a child born in the slums and cursed by the sins of his parents. His mother is a notorious drug addict and whore, more concerned with getting her next high than she is with his well-being. His stepfather hates him so much, that he literally treats him like an animal. Tayshawn is forced to sleep in a cage and scavenge for scraps of food wherever he can find them. Because of his squalid appearance, he is also the object of ridicule by all of the neighborhood kids who have given the nickname, Animal. The only person to ever show him even the slightest bit of kindness is his older brother, Justice. Justice keeps him out of harm's way the best he can. However, when Justice is taken from his life, Tayshawn finds he is alone in the streets. With his guardian angel gone, he is now at the mercy of the world Justice tried to protect him from. Tayshawn quickly learns that if he is to survive the jungle, he will have to adapt. Love and companionship constantly elude Tayshawn, but death and heartache cling to him like a second skin. Gradually, the layers of the frightened child he had been are stripped away until there is nothing left of Tayshawn, and all that remains is, Animal.

K’wan, one of this generation’s most talented and gritty writers, delivers his bloodiest story yet. Animal follows the infamous fugitive from K’wan’s best-known Hood Rat Series on a revenge mission from the rugged streets of Puerto Rico to the scene of the original crime, Harlem, NY. "One bullet changed everything." Three years after narrowly escaping a one-way trip to the gas chamber, the fugitive known only as Animal finds himself drawn back to the scene of the crime, Harlem, NY. Throughout his entire time in exile the only thing that kept Animal going was the thought that he would one day be reunited with his soulmate, Gucci, but one bullet changed everything. When his enemies tried to murder Gucci, they crossed the line—so he vows to cross them all. While Gucci teeters between life and death, Animal sets out on a bloody mission fueled by love and orchestrated by bullets—there would be no more innocents. Alliances are formed and secrets uncovered while Animal wages his personal war on the streets of Harlem with the end result revealing one great truth—he is only a small piece in a much greater puzzle.

After the incredible success of Animal, K’wan is back with the second, bloody installment in the new Animal saga. Secrets are revealed, sides are chosen and bodies are dropped…it's on! The man ordered to take Animal from the world turns out to be the man who brought him into it. Animal finds himself torn between his hatred for the father who had abandoned him and the man who had taken everything from him. An uneasy truce is formed between father and son to take down a common enemy and finally grant Animal his freedom from the blood debt he's carried for so many years. But when the ghosts of Animal's past catch up with him he learns that nothing is what it seems, and everything is subject to corruption, even his love for Gucci.

After making a promise to leave the street life behind, a shocking revelation forces Animal back into the game to face his greatest opponent yet. After years of war on the streets the man known only as Animal is finally able to hang up his guns. He's paid his debt to society for the crimes he's committed, and thanks to the sacrifice made by the father he barely knew, old scores have been settled. For the first time in his life, he's able to find the peace that had eluded him for so long and settle down with his wife Gucci and their son T.J. Animal's future is looking bright—that is, until someone from his past resurfaces with a shocking revelation. When Animal's former lover, Red Sonja, shows up on his doorstep with a little girl, claiming Animal is the father, he and Gucci immediately fear it’s a ploy for money. But Red Sonja has come to collect a debt of a different kind, one that can only be paid in blood. A powerful man is hunting Red Sonja and her daughter, and she calls on Animal to stop him—permanently. Animal is forced to break the promise he made to his wife upon his release from prison and once again picks up his guns. To keep his daughter and her mother safe, Animal sets out on a mission of murder, but this isn’t just any man Red Sonja has sent him after, it's one of the most powerful drug dealers in the country—her father.

Essence bestselling crime author, K’wan, returns with the explosive fourth installment in the Animal saga. A complex and bloody tale from one of this generation's most talented and gritty writers. Animal, the gentle and kind-hearted family man, is still infamous for turning at any moment into a cold-blooded killer. Animal is the product of ruthless abuse and the unforgiving streets - he is the product of the world we all live in. There but for the grace of God go...any of us. Is there something that could push you to the breaking point of murder? Are you absolutely sure there isn't? There's an Animal in all of us.