Set in Chicago in the late 1980s, this riveting crime novel revolves around Nick Hayden, a rookie INS field agent eager to make his mark in the unit responsible for picking up illegal immigrants around the city. Hayden excels, whether he’s raiding factories or busting Colombian drug dealers. Seen as a rising star by supervisors, the green, idealistic Hayden evolves into what one veteran agent terms a “gladiator,” an agent willing to do whatever is necessary to get the job done. But Hayden’s real reason for joining INS—the mysterious death of an agent 13 years earlier—remains a closely guarded secret. Hayden’s world changes dramatically when he recruits a humble Mexican illegal immigrant, Miguel Chavez, as an informant to help take down Salvador Rico, the ruthless kingpin of Chicago’s counterfeit document trade. As the story builds to a deadly climax, the unexpected friendship between Miguel and Nick transforms Hayden, helping him to reclaim a part of himself that had disintegrated amid the rough-and-tumble pursuit of his mission.

Informed by the author’s 22 years as a special agent with INS, Miguel’s Gift examines the conflict between illegal immigrants and the government struggling to regulate them, a conflict fraught with danger, secrecy, and the hope for a better life. 

“A knockout debut novel that takes the reader on a journey through the backstreets of Chicago and into the seldom seen world of illegal immigrants struggling to survive and an immigration system that has lost its way. Mirroring the chaos of our present world, it is also a story of one man’s redemption. Read it.” —Rick Collignon, author of The Journal of Antonio Montoya

“Miguel’s Gift is an excellent crime novel that details the underground world of ruthless counterfeiters who prey on the millions living in the shadows. Only someone with Bruce Kading’s experience and background can so meticulously bring to life the challenges in bringing these crime syndicates to justice, and provide the reader an inside glimpse of the different personalities of agents and interoffice politics that play a huge part in determining if an investigation is successful. Kading truly knows this field, and through Special Agent Nick Hayden and his informant Miguel, he expertly gives us a portrait of this shadowy world.” —Hipolito Acosta, author of The Shadow Catcher and The Hunt for Maan Singh

“Speeding toward a deadly climax, this is at once a bone-shaking thriller and a tale of redemption.” —West Suburban Living

"Kading, who worked for the INS, handles the nitty-gritty of arrests, infighting among criminals, and politics well, but it’s the transformation of Hayden that most impresses." —Publishers Weekly 

“Kading, a former agent of the FBI and INS, reveals the history of the period while telling an absorbing story of one agent’s search for truth and meaning in the 1980s.” —The St. Augustine Record

“. . . a consistently compelling thriller with deftly crafted and memorable characters. . .” —Midwest Book Review

“…the second half of the book gains drive and momentum.” —Kirkus Reviews

“With illegal immigration in the millions and debate at a raucous tenor, ‘Miguel’s Gift’ presents a more thoughtful and human look at the problem.” —Florida Times Union