Most people would call spending five days on Maui a vacation, but the day attorney Storm Kayama arrives in Kahului to help Lara Farrell set up her new dive shop, someone bombs a restaurant. And then things get serious.
Some nasty predators dwell in paradise, and they aren’t all hiding in the azure waters. When one of Lara’s employees kills himself and one of his young daughters, Storm asks questions and begins to make discoveries she never wanted to know.
“The men like them very young, you know. They call it selling spring,” Lara’s manager told Storm. Stella’s gaze flickers to where bone-thin Keiko restocks file drawers.
“How did you get her away from them?” Storm isn’t just asking about Keiko, and Stella knows it.
Coaxing information from the terrified women, Storm finds that the shadowy Yakuza, one of the most efficient organized crime cults in the world, is developing a big business in trafficking women—right here in the islands. Comfortable with the diverse cultures, the group’s tentacles ensnare local businesses, real estate, and politics.
Storm finds herself up against a lethal and faceless enemy, in a place where disposing of a victim is as easy as dumping her in shark-infested waters. But who is hunting whom? Storm learns that surviving doesn’t always mean living. For some, the ghosts of the past may be more painful than the anguish of the present.