Former Army Ranger Marcus O'Bannion and homicide cop Scarlett Bishop have met only briefly but when Scarlett receives a phone call in the middle of the night she immediately recognises his voice asking her to meet him in one of Cincinnati's roughest areas. On arriving Scarlett finds the body of a 17-year-old Asian girl and Marcus injured. A fierce champion of victims' rights Marcus claims the young woman was working for an affluent local family and the last time he saw her she was clearly in need of help. As they investigate Scarlett and Marcus are pulled into the dangerous world of human trafficking where they soon realise they are going to have to become as ruthless as those they are hunting.