As a foreign correspondent, Alex Callahan has travelled to some of the most dangerous comers of the globe. But he has never known the visceral terror that seizes him when, on a perfect summer afternoon, his six-year-old twins vanish without trace...

As a foreign correspondent, Alex Callahan has travelled to some of the most dangerous comers of the globe. But he has never known the visceral terror that seizes him when, on a perfect summer afternoon, his six-year-old twins vanish without trace.

Then the phone call comes: chilling silence, slow, steady breathing, then a familiar, plaintive voice - "Daddy?" - sets in motion a waking nightmare.

Knowing that time is running out and leads are being exhausted,Alex vows to use his own investigative skills to rescue his children from the shadowy figure dubbed "The Piper". Before long,he finds himself closing in on a monster with a mission - a twisted soul hell-bent on fulfilling a dark dream, a fiend with a terrifying true calling...

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

......

Acknowledgments

"John Case is a confident master writing at peak performance."

——LORENZO CARCATERRA "John Case [has a] sure hand and a deep understanding of the  visceral terrors of the situation... A convincing thriller which grips the heart and gut with equal force"

——GUARDIAN