Kate Lane, wife of businessman Edward Lane, is kidnapped in New York. Former military policeman Jack Reacher becomes an unwitting witness as the kidnappers take the ransom. He offers Lane his help in freeing Kate, and he agrees, but sets one condition: no police. It turns out that five years ago, Lane’s first wife was kidnapped in the same way, and she was later found dead due to a mistake made by the FBI. Having begun an investigation, Reacher discovers that there is a very close connection between these two crimes. Lee Child is one of the best modern authors working in the detective-action genre. His hero Jack Reacher has become a truly iconic figure, the embodiment of the unbending hero detective.