John Mitchell Sedley, a congenital thief, comes out of prison with a new face including his eyebrows, once the ""insignia"" of violence, which the performing surgeon hopes will convert him from an asocial to a cleaner-living character. But before he thinks twice, he's boosted a 19¢ pen and works his way up to a million dollar heist. . . . Occasionally betrayed by Some bad writing (""his gut was a grinding center of fire"") this still offers considerable excitement for those that like a story as hard as a diamond in the rough.