Trent (a.k.a. Buck, his professional signature) and Julia Jacoby are a happily married couple who own and run an art gallery. Trent is a well-known photographer who frequently travels to find interesting subjects. He keeps in regular touch with Julia when he's away, so after some days pass when he's away in South Africa or Botswana—Julia is unsure just where—she begins to hunt for him, spurred on by a chilling call from a stranger who tells her to say nothing. Julia knows very little, but the phone call makes her anxious. She decides that she must track Trent down. The book's chapters are titled by dates, so that the reader is aware of the passage of time as Trent's frightened spouse becomes increasingly assertive and aware that she must take the initiative if she's to find and save her husband.

This thriller is well-paced and believable. The Jacobys trust each other, communicate well, and their relationship has been long-term and relaxed, based on a certain amount of affluence and independence. Threats to their safety are not part of their shared existence. Kruger builds the suspense in believable ways. Does Trent lead another life as an operative? Has he been caught in the violence of an attempted revolution? Is he alive? He's supposed to photograph diamond mines. What, if anything, have they to do with the situation? These worries become increasingly real to Julia as the introverted shopkeeper must risk her own safety in ways she had not contemplated before Trent's/Buck's trip.

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