Protecting a brilliant freshman whose homeschooled life has left her unprepared for the outside world, Jennifer invites the vulnerable girl home for a Christmas break that embroils Sheriff Joanna Brady in a volatile missing-persons case. Returning to Northern Arizona University for her sophomore year, Jennifer Brady becomes a big sister to her new roommate, Beth Rankin, a brilliant yet sheltered, homeschooled, sixteen-year-old freshman. With her first taste of both freedom and unfettered access to the internet, Beth at war with her parents. Jenny asks to invite Beth home for Christmas, and Sheriff Joanna Brady says yes. While Joanna's department is sucked into a complex officer-involved shooting that places two vulnerable young children in jeopardy, Beth disappears. With her own daughter's well-being at stake, Joanna knows there's no room for the slightest mistake as hope ticks away. -- adapted from jacket

Sequel to: Field of bones.