Kate McDolen, an elementary school teacher, knew she had to protect vulnerable eight-year-old Mistie Henderson from parents who were making her life hell. So one day she packed her bags, quietly picked up Mistie after school, and set off toward what she thought would be a new life. How could she know she was driving into a nightmare?

The nightmare began when Tony jumped into the passenger’s seat of Kate’s car, waving a gun. Tony was a dangerous girl, more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. An admirer of violence and power, she had very different plans in mind for Kate and little Mistie. The cross-country trip that followed would turn into a one-way journey to fear, desperation, and madness.