"Readers will be won over by [the] flesh-and-blood characters, crackling dialogue and lean, suspenseful plotting."--Publishers Weekly
"Intense, hold-your-breath suspense. Iris Johansen is incomparable."--Tami Hoag, New York Times-bestselling author of Guilty as Sin and A Thin Dark Line
"A real knockout ... [An] intense thriller ... bravo!"--The Atlanta Journal
"[A] spectacular tale of revenge, betrayal and survival."--Publishers Weekly
"Outstanding. A real page-turner. Many will add [Iris Johansen's] name to their list of favorite authors."--Associated Press
PROLOGUE
September 19
Danzar, Croatia
The dogs were howling.
Sweet Jesus, Bess wished they'd stop.
Focus.
Shoot.
Move on.
Dark here. Adjust the light.
The babies . . .
Oh, God, why?
Don't think about it. Just take the picture.
Focus.
Shoot.
She needed more film.
Bess's hands were shaking as she opened the camera, took out the used roll, and inserted a new one.
"We have to leave, Ms. Grady." Sergeant Brock stood in the doorway behind her. His words were polite but his expression was full of revulsion as he stared at her. "They're right outside the village. You shouldn't be here."
Focus.
Shoot.
Blood. So much blood.
"We have to go."
Another room.
The camera was knocked out of her hand. Sergeant Brock now stood in front of her, his face white. "What are you? Some sort of ghoul? How can you do this?"
She couldn't do it. Not anymore. She was exploding inside.
She had to do it. She bent down and picked up the camera. "Wait in the jeep for me. I won't be long."
She scarcely heard his curse as he turned on his heel and left her alone.
No, not alone.
The babies . . .
Focus.
Shoot.
She could get through this.
No, she couldn't.
She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.
Closed out the babies.
The dogs continued their howling.
She couldn't shut them out.
Monsters. The world was full of monsters.
So do your job. Let everyone see the monsters.
She opened her eyes and lurched toward the last room.
Don't think. Don't listen to the dogs.
Just focus.
Shoot.
Move on.
Copyright © 1999 by I. J. Enterprises
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She expected sunshine and balmy breezes. What she saw was everyone's worst nightmare. Bess Grady has heard the unmistakable sound before. She knows what it means. But not even the eerie lament of the howling dogs can prepare her for what has taken place in the small village. The seasoned photojournalist had been sent there on an easy assignment, and now she has stumbled upon something she was never meant to see. Amid chaos and fear, she joins forces with an intimidating stranger, a man whose alliances are unclear but whose methods have a way of leaving bodies in his wake. For what she has witnessed is only the first stage in a plan of terror that may kill us all. And she has no choice but to stop it--or die trying....
