Awarded Bronze Place in the 2023 Feathered Quill Book Awards Program for the Mystery/Suspense category! He's not sure if he can trust her but he is hell-bent on saving her. When his wife and the mother of his children goes missing, Jack Gamble doesn't know what to think. Could Maddy really have fallen for one of her students and run off? That's what the police think. Is she in trouble? Injured somewhere? Being held against her will? At first, there are no clues, she has simply vanished. Then the police and other agents of the New Zealand government begin to pull back the veil on the hidden evidence and Jack begins to unravel the mystery. He and a few others embark on a harrowing journey to rescue Maddy from the grips of the Chinese government before they get her back to China. The journey takes him across New Zealand and then to Vanuatu. They're on a poor Pacific island, a showdown occurs between China, a rising menacing power, and two very determined women. The outcome is hard to foresee among the many twists and turns. This is a powerful and moving novel about private citizens challenging an overreaching totalitarian government with limitless resources and connections.