Lorraine Vasquez

When Rick Van Warner found himself searching abandoned buildings and dangerous streets looking for his missing son, he had no idea that the synthetic, pill-form heroin that had snared his teen was already killing so many. In the years of pain and heartache that followed, as he tried to save his son from opioid addiction, Van Warner discovered what the American public is just now becoming aware of: Opioids prescribed for even minor pain relief are so addictive that even a few days of use can create dependency.

Anna Sweet, ex-cop turned waitress, is bar-hopping her way across the USA. But a middle-of-the-night phone call to Anna's hotel room in Kermit, Texas, is about to end her life on the road. The brakes on her sister Cheri's car have failed, and she's lying banged up in an Ottawa hospital. Cheri warns that unless Anna comes right home, she will be dead by Christmas. Anna has more than enough reason to stay away from her hometown. Yet her sister's terror is a calling card she cannot ignore.