When successful Baltimore furrier Mark Rubin's beautiful wife, Natalie, disappears with their three children, the police turn him away, noting that all evidence indicates she left willingly. And there's no crime in walking out on an unhappy marriage. Private detective Tess Monaghan is his only hope, but Tess isn't quite sure what she can do for Mark. She also doesn't know what to make of her new client's claim that he and Natalie were the model for wedded bliss. Tess's instincts tell her there's something off about Mark's picture-perfect view of his marriage--and that he's withholding information from her. After Tess puts the word out to her network of fellow investigators around the country, she soon locates Natalie and the children. It appears they've been traveling from state to state in the company of a mysterious man--a stranger described by witnesses as "handsome" and "charming" but otherwise unremarkable. As Tess investigates further, she becomes more convinced that Natalie's motive for running away lies in the gap between what Rubin will not say and what he refuses to believe. But when murder strikes, Tess finds herself involved in an intricate web of betrayal and vengeance--and now there's more than one man's stubborn pride in peril. The lives of three innocent children hang in the balance.-- Back cover.