The daughter of multimillionaire businessman Gregory Marchant is kidnapped and held to ransom by a group of ruthless ex-soldiers.

Detective Chief Inspector Harper of the Kidnap Investigation Squad is assigned to get the young woman back- alive.

Harper is a driven cop, unattached and wary of commitment to anything other than the cases he is working. His philosophy is that if you have nothing to lose, then you don't get disappointed. He also knows, from bitter experience, that a third of all kidnap/abduction victims are recovered dead, a third are never seen or heard of again, and the remainder are released or escape from their captors. Bad odds.

Gregory Marchant does not wholly rely on the police. His own men are on the trail of the kidnappers. He is determined to save his daughter, Bethany, and to also exact revenge on the gang that have caused him so much anguish.

As Harper's team and Marchant's men independently discover the identities of those they seek, and subsequently work against the clock to find their lair, Detective Inspector Joely (Jo) Miller continues to investigate the cold case of a woman who went missing several years ago. At the time, it was believed that she had been murdered by her husband, though without a body or sufficient circumstantial evidence, he could not be charged. But even suspected murder cases are never closed.

A number of people are destined to meet bloody ends, as Harper and Jo close in on their respective suspects. And to complicate matters further, Harper finds himself becoming attracted to Detective Constable Sandy Matheson. The feelings are mutual. They are on a collision course, and Harper is right to be fearful, for Sandy will all too soon find herself in the line of fire.

From being emotionally self-contained and without obligation to others, Harper is becoming more vulnerable, and has to acknowledge that, for the first time in his life, he has everything to lose.