Promises to Keep — T. Davis Bunn / Davis Bunn

"Her face showed one marking that he had seen too often since beginning the present work eyes that were much older and harder than they should be in a girl of this age. It always gave him a pang, seeing eyes like that. He felt the silent accusations of his own daughter's stare - " From Chapter One

The two girls, teenage friends in a Washington suburb, both disappeared one day without explanation. It was an anguished story that Duncan Wyeth had heard too many times in his lonely years as a private investigator, a parent's cry that haunted his own life. Why had they run away? Where had they gone? Could he find them? Would he ever find his own girl?

When Wyeth's search for the two runaways is joined by Jeremy Hughes (T.J. Case's supportive friend from The Presence), together they follow a trail that leads to the streets of Los Angeles. What they discover is a shocking underworld of hopeless and helpless kids caught in a web of fear, addiction and violence.

How can the two men break through the darkness to the exploited teens and their misguided parents? Is their search already in vain? And why is Senator Adderly's legislation to protect juveniles met with bland indifference in Washington, and organized resistance under the guise of constitutional rights?