Every year, on average, 23 people go missing from cruise ships. Nobody has ever returned. Until now, that is. Martin Schwartz, a police psychologist, lost his wife and son five years ago. They were on a cruise ship when they vanished, and the case was dismissed as a simple murder-suicide. They are not the only parent-and-child pair to have vanished from the ship in recent years, but authorities appear unconcerned. But when a missing girl reappears, carrying Martin's son's beloved teddy bear, the police will be forced to admit that something sinister is aboard... 'Without a doubt, one of the most evocative storytellers in the crime world.' SLAUGHTER KARIN 'Fitzek's thrillers are breathtaking, with unexpected twists.' COBEN, HARLAN