In the aftermath of his father's death, Will Keats' life finally seems to be settling down to some semblance of normalcy again in his new home with Adrienne and her bright lively, eight-year-old daughter Olivia. Then Olivia disappears, and a trail of muddy boot prints indicates she didn't leave on her own.
The trail leads to the door of Adrienne's disreputable ex-husband, Byron, Olivia's father. Byron has an alibi and an unlimited reserve of jealousy and hatred for Will. Olivia's kidnapping only fuels the simmering fire between them. But as the police and FBI investigations grow colder with the oncoming winter, it appears to Will that his only hope of ever seeing Olivia again lies in cooperating with Byron and his shady underworld connections.
Dedication:
To Maxine Willis and Lou Haas of Cherokee Village, Arkansas,
and to John and Mae Whitaker of Columbus, Georgia
And to Frank and Claire Phillips of Providence, Rhode Island