Douglas Cooper was never meant to be a hero.
He is a University of Florida anthropology professor with a precise mind, a carefully ordered life, and a need to keep his world firmly under control. But when his brother David is murdered while investigating the disappearance of a thirteen-year-old girl, Doug is pulled into a world that threatens to shatter his illusion of safety.
Joon was not taken at random. She was handpicked, shadowed, and stolen to fulfill a stranger's order.
Following the trail David left behind, Doug uncovers a hidden network that treats human lives as inventory and children as commodities. He is not a detective or a soldier. But he made an oath long ago, and keeping it may be the only way to save her.
He will not do it alone.
Doug's search draws together an ensemble cast of friends and allies, each carrying their own strengths, fears, flaws, and reasons to stand beside him. As danger closes in, their loyalty, determination, and bonds are tested.