In the early morning hours, twelve-year-old Tammy Fitzgerald is kidnapped from her bedroom in her family home. No ransom demand is made. No body is found. Several months pass, and the child is declared dead.
At the time of the kidnapping, Taylor Shaw is Tammy's babysitter. She is just seventeen years old. She refuses to believe that Tammy is dead and embarks upon a one-person crusade to find out the truth.
As a seventeen-year-old, Taylor, with no family connections and a relationship with a local biker gang, is not taken seriously. After a few months, she is beginning to run out of options.
Our story takes place in the California desert, primarily in two towns, Haven and Newton. Haven is a bustling commercial center. Newton is an isolated farming community. In the past, one could only reach Newton by a narrow and dangerous mountain pass road.
Don Fitzpatrick, Tammy's father, is instrumental in extending the interstate highway from Haven to Newton and building a large subdivision along the way known as Haven Lakes. He wound up with the largest house in the new subdivision.
The kidnapping takes place shortly after the Fitzpatrick family moves into its new home.
When we join the story, Taylor has enrolled in a survey class covering the U.S. Constitution at the local Junior College in Newton. During the first day of class, her professor, Richard (Rick) Miller, tells the class that he has been working as a DA in Haven and has experience in criminal investigations. To Taylor, he seems to be the perfect person to help with her investigation.
Taylor also has a childhood friend, Frank Diaz, who has become a police officer in the Haven-Newton Police Department. Taylor feels that Frank, too, would be helpful to her efforts.
A dangerous crime lord is reputed to be involved with the kidnapping and to own various local law enforcement agencies.
We watch as Taylor, Rick, and Frank struggle to learn the truth behind Tammy's kidnapping and how their efforts lead them to the ultimate armed showdown between Taylor and her friends and the crime lord and his hired guns.
We learn in the end that loyalty, truth, and trust prevail over crime and greed.
