Bestselling author Peter Edwards exposes Canada's evolving criminal underworld in this unflinching account of Shane Dankoski, a gang member who rescued himself from certain death by turning his back on criminal life.

In this gripping tale of a modern-day outlaw, Shane Dankoski meticulously recounts his time as a high-ranking member of the United Nations gang of British Columbia in the early 2000s. Under constant threat from other gangs, including the Wolfpack and Hells Angels, Shane spent a decade evading the law and building his drug empire, making regular trips to Mexico.

After losing numerous friends and becoming addicted to the very drugs he helped put on the street, including fentanyl, he realized that the unbreakable allegiance of “Gangster Code” was only a myth, when even his closest friends could betray—or even kill him. After stints in and out of custody, including sharing an isolated cellblock with serial killer Robert (Willie) Pickton, Shane pulled himself out of a debilitating drug addiction that threatened to end his life.

Edwards deftly weaves a tale of betrayal, grief and astounding resilience, in this gut-wrenching portrait from the inside of Canada’s criminal underworld. A Gangster’s Life brings alive the structure and international scope of modern gang life, and of ultimately finding a way out of it with this story of a man who didn’t believe he deserved another chance, but got one.