Former Philadelphia police officer, Max Freeman, is in his canoe on a river in South Florida. He seems something that doesn't look right. When he gets closer, he realizes it is the body of a young girl. He later finds that it is six-year-old Milissa Marks, who had been abducted and killed.

Max has been living with the memory of a child he shot in self defense while Max was on duty in Philadelphia. His motivation for being a cop ended with the remorse he felt for taking the life of a twelve-year-old. Now, seeing the girl's body, it brings back the old memories.

He knows that the police always look closely at the person who reports a crime and is ready for the tough questions. He is informed that there have been other children abudcted and murdered and left in remote areas, such as where he lives.

Max's attorney advises him not to say anything but Max feels an obligation to tell the police what he knows. Then, when another child is abducted, the police don't hide their suspicions that there are too many coincidences and he may be a suspect.

The author maintains the tension at a high level as we see Max attempting to investigate the abductions while trying not to give the police more reason to suspect him. When he visits a remote part of the Everglades, he places his own life in danger.

This is a well plotted novel with intriguing characters and a believable story. Max is easy to sympathise with after his bad experiences in his past return to haunt him again. He's honest, intelligent and determined to find the killers.

It was also interesting to meet characters like Nate Brown, a war vet who lives by nature and wants to do the right thing. I could visualize him in another time, helping wagon trains through the dangerous Indian territory.