Jack Swyteck’s new client fled Iran to Miami with her daughter and has been accused of kidnapping by her husband. To stop the father from taking the girl back to Tehran, Jack must build a case under international law and prove that returning the child would put her at risk. Everything in this case isn’t what it seems, though, and Jack quickly learns that his client is really the child’s aunt and that the biological mother may have been killed by Iran’s morality police. But what role did the father play in his wife’s death, and why is Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, being pressured by her bosses to persuade Jack to drop the case? Plunging into an investigation unlike any other, Jack must discover who is behind the legal maneuvering and what their interest is.

Jack Swyteck’s new client fled Iran to Miami with her daughter and has been accused of kidnapping by her husband. To stop the father from taking the girl back to Tehran, Jack must build a case under international law and prove that returning the child would put her at risk. Everything in this case isn’t what it seems, though, and Jack quickly learns that his client is really the child’s aunt and that the biological mother may have been killed by Iran’s morality police. But what role did the father play in his wife’s death, and why is Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, being pressured by her bosses to persuade Jack to drop the case? Plunging into an investigation unlike any other, Jack must discover who is behind the legal maneuvering and what their interest is.

Bestselling author James Grippando’s legendary criminal defense attorney, Jack Swyteck, is back to defend a single mother accused of kidnapping her own child in a perilous case involving politics and international diplomacy that will test his legal expertise and his marriage.

Jack Swyteck’s new client fled Iran to Miami with her daughter and has been accused of kidnapping by her husband. The seasoned attorney must not only plan a winning defense. To stop the father from taking the girl back to Tehran, Jack must build a case under international law and prove that returning the child would put her at risk.

But everything in this case isn’t what it seems, and Jack quickly learns that his client is really the child’s aunt and that the biological mother may have been killed by Iran’s morality police. But what role did the father play in his wife’s death, and why is Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, being pressured by her bosses to persuade Jack to drop the case?

Plunging into an investigation unlike any other, Jack must discover who is behind the legal maneuvering and what their interest is. As politics threatens to derail the case and compromise the best interests of the child, Jack and Andie find themselves on opposite sides --- with their marriage hanging in the balance. For their relationship to survive, the couple must navigate a treacherous web of deceit that extends from a Miami courthouse to the highest echelons of Washington, DC, and spells grave danger at every turn.

Audiobook available, read by Jonathan Davis

Meg Russo and her husband, Justin, were driving their daughter, Lily, to Ithaca College. Then a car swerved up beside them, and Meg lost control of her vehicle. Justin didn’t survive the accident. Four months later, Meg works to distract herself from her grief and guilt, reopening her small local bookstore. But soon after she returns to work, bizarre messages and visitors begin to arrive, with strangers threatening Meg and Lily. They are obsessed with a young adult novel titled The Prophesy. An online group of believers are convinced that it heralds the apocalypse, and social media posts link the book --- and Meg’s reclusive musician father --- to Satanism. These conspiracy theorists vow to seek revenge on The Prophesy’s author: Meg. As the threats turn violent, Meg begins to suspect that Justin’s death may not have been an accident.

Meg Russo and her husband, Justin, were driving their daughter, Lily, to Ithaca College. Then a car swerved up beside them, and Meg lost control of her vehicle. Justin didn’t survive the accident. Four months later, Meg works to distract herself from her grief and guilt, reopening her small local bookstore. But soon after she returns to work, bizarre messages and visitors begin to arrive, with strangers threatening Meg and Lily. They are obsessed with a young adult novel titled The Prophesy. An online group of believers are convinced that it heralds the apocalypse, and social media posts link the book --- and Meg’s reclusive musician father --- to Satanism. These conspiracy theorists vow to seek revenge on The Prophesy’s author: Meg. As the threats turn violent, Meg begins to suspect that Justin’s death may not have been an accident.

From USA Today bestselling and Edgar and Shamus Award–winning author Alison Gaylin comes a slick, riveting and all-too-plausible tale of psychological suspense where a mother is desperate to protect her family as they become targets of a group of violent conspiracy theorists.

Sometimes the world is out to get you.

Meg Russo was behind the wheel when it happened. She and her husband, Justin, were driving their daughter, Lily, to Ithaca College, the family celebrating the 18-year-old music prodigy’s future. Then a car swerved up beside them, the young men inside it behaving bizarrely --- and Meg lost control of her own vehicle. The family road trip turned into a tragedy. Justin didn’t survive the accident.

Four months later, Meg works to distract herself from her grief and guilt, reopening her small local bookstore. But soon after she returns to work, bizarre messages and visitors begin to arrive, with strangers threatening Meg and Lily in increasingly terrifying ways. They are obsessed with a young adult novel titled The Prophesy, which was published 30 years earlier. An online group of believers are convinced that it heralds the apocalypse, and social media posts link the book --- and Meg’s reclusive musician father --- to Satanism. These conspiracy theorists vow to seek revenge on The Prophesy’s author: Meg.

As the threats turn violent, Meg begins to suspect that Justin’s death may not have been an accident. To find answers and save her daughter, her father and herself, Meg must get to the root of these dangerous lies --- and find a way to face the believers head-on...before it’s too late.

Audiobook available, read by Jennifer Pickens