“This compelling story deals directly and effectively with important issues.” —Booklist
“An impressively twisted and unpredictable noir murder mystery… An entertaining and authentic page-turning experience.” —Santa Barbara Independent
“Seethes with mystery and intrigue…. A beautiful, richly entertaining series.” —Gumshoe Review
“Engaging… Refreshing… A multidimensional psychological mystery.” —Bookpage
A panga boat lands on a Santa Barbara beach in the night. Drugs are swiftly offloaded—but drugs are not all this boat carries. When a mother arrives to receive her daughter, she finds the boat empty, save for a silver medallion. Desperate and fearing the worst, trans mother Chucha Robledo goes to the only person in town she can trust to find her baby girl.
P.I. Jaymie Zarlin’s brother died in police custody, and she knows all too well the pain that comes from the unexplained loss of a loved one. She promises to help, only to find herself plunged into the darkest of underworlds.
As Jaymie dives deep into the abyss of child trafficking, the local police department pressures her to drop the case. She finds herself on her own, tracking the most dangerous of criminals. As she struggles to recover the little girl, the case brings her closer to uncovering the truth about her own brother’s death.
In this riveting mystery about loss and love, Jaymie will be forced to choose: what can be jettisoned and what precious cargo must—at all costs—be saved?