Jane and Daniel met by chance in Battery Park in NYC. They did some mild flirting and planned to meet the next day at the park because they wanted to get to know each other. They meet again eight years later in Los Angles where Jane is a nurse in the hospital where Daniel's mother was recovering from surgery. At first they wondered if the other person would even remember their brief meeting but it turned out that they had thought of each other over the years. They are both in a different places in their lives but there is still a strong connection between them. Jane grew up in a religious cult and had escaped to live in the real world. Her brothers and husband were part of a group called Vanguard who were working to bring morality back to the world. Vanguard would capture a well known person who they felt needed to change their life and then broadcast their 'trial' for everyone to see. The punishment was a public branding of the person. Daniel also had a connection to the Vanguard cult because they kidnapped him right after he met Jane in the park. He has lost a leg due to the group and has major panic attacks. Daniel is also the brother of a famous actor - one of People's sexist men - who seems pretty unsure of himself and verbally abuses his brother to make him feel better about himself. He even hit on Jane so that he could hurt Daniel.

Jane is terrified that the Vanguard group will find her and return her to her husband. When she and Daniel meet in LA, she felt like the group was getting closer to finding her. Daniel tries to protect her but she feels like she has to take care of herself and is always read to relocate somewhere else. As the Vanguard group gets closer.. and the tension in the novel really ramps up -- Jane and Daniel have to face their pasts and make a decision about their future.

I've never read a novel with such a unique story line. The writing is beautiful and the characters make this an exciting story. This is a debut novel for this author and I look forward to her future books.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. ( )