Christopher Flynn had done time in juvenile prison. At twenty-six he is working for his father's carpet installation business. His father has been disappointed by Chris's prison experience and his lack of ambition. Chris is trying to meet some of his father's expectations and resents his father for not accepting him for what he is and what he is trying to do.

One day on one of the company's installation jobs Chris finds a bag of stolen money under the floorboards. He tells his job partner to forget it. But they reveal the discovery to a friend and fellow former prison inmate. This sets in motion a critical chain of action. Chris has to contend with a pair of sadistic ex-cons who want to reclaim the money stolen during a jewelry heist years earlier.

The Way Home is Pelecanos' usual well-written book, but to me it fails to generate much suspense and little sympathy for the characters. The fragile relationship between father and son is a continuing theme. He describes the obstacles and the temptations that face juvenile offenders in and after prison. He advocates juvenile prison reform in detail.