Underbelly: The Golden Mile

The book behind the hard-hitting TV drama

Art imitates life. Crooks take life.

The actor cocks his finger for the camera. Real crooks cock real guns.

The actor is playing 'Teflon John' Ibrahim. A real crook shot Ibrahim's brother five times...

Art imitates life - and death - in a city on the make where the cops are on the take. Where cash is king and the fix is in - from boxing ring to betting ring, police headquarters to Parliament House.

This was Australia's underbelly... and it didn't get any tougher than on the strip they call the Golden Mile.