Just why did Liam Jenkins disappear? Why did he abandon his car late one Friday night on one of Sydney's northern beaches? Who was the mysterious woman he was seeing in the weeks before he disappeared who he said was making him so happy and yet he hadn't introduced her to his friends? And what does his disappearance have to do with a civil war taking place thousands of miles away in another country?
Sydney-based private investigator Stephanie Marshall didn't have any idea where it would lead her when potential client Valerie Gardner came into her office that morning. She seemed like such a genuine, concerned woman who was desperate to find out what had happened to her best friend Liam Jenkins who'd apparently vanished off the face of the earth a year ago. Stephanie is happy to take on the case but the more she peels off the layers of it the more she begins to doubt the sincerity of Valerie. Why had she waited a year before hiring a private investigator? Why did everyone Stephanie talked to about the case say that Valerie had fallen out with Liam shortly before he'd disappeared when Valerie herself denied that? And why did everyone say that Valerie would have an ulterior motive for wanting to find Liam now?
Trying to get down to the truth brings Stephanie into contact with a group of people who all bear grudges of one form or another against Valerie. They all say she's ruthless and capable of anything. So is she trying to cover something up? Is she trying to deflect attention away from her own wrongdoing? And how is she connected to Stephanie's new lover Peter who seems to carry enough secrets of his own to make Stephanie a little uneasy?
The investigation into Liam's disappearance takes Stephanie through southeast Asia and then back to Australia. How will old scores be settled once everybody knows what really did happen to Liam Jenkins that night and just who was involved? A truly jaw-dropping twist leads to a dramatic climax that Stephanie herself is caught up in and when they all realise that they're not as big as the world that can overpower even the most manipulative of men and women.
