In Etli Pine’s memory, like a steel splinter, one recollection has lodged itself: when she was six, a man who broke into their home used a children’s counting rhyme to choose between her and her twin sister, Mercy. The rhyme stopped on Mercy—and he took her away. Etli never saw her sister again…
Thirty years later, FBI special agent Pine, after incredible effort, managed to identify the kidnapper—some Ito Vincenzo. But he had disappeared long ago, leaving no trace. To find at least a thread, she goes to the place where he was last seen—in New Jersey. To the house where Vincenzo’s grandson, Tony, lives.
Etli plans only to talk with him, but the moment Tony hears a knock at the door and a woman’s voice, he runs. Pine launches a chase, and in desperation to catch the fugitive driven by wild fear, she aims a warning shot. But it doesn’t happen. From somewhere to her right she gets struck, knocking her down. And when she gets up, she sees a gun pointed at her…