Ex-Marine Richard Drake treasures his laid-back life on St. Mark, smallest of the US Virgin Islands. To make ends meet, he works as a charter boat captain and provides security for a high-profile client. To nourish his soul, he spends lots of time enchanting Sophie Cooper. Once, when she sought safe haven, Richard saved her life. Then she stole his heart. Now they fill each other's lives, hand in hand by day and ever closer during tropical nights. But Sophie has a problem. Her morning trek through the tranquil beauty of St. Mark's rainforest turned horribly wrong when a knife-wielding stranger attacked her. Richard vows to find the scoundrel and deliver him to justice. Unfortunately, Richard's odds of success appear slim. Sure, he was Force Recon, but that was in arid Afghan mountains, not a claustrophobic rainforest. How to find his way in such an environment, much less locate and track the stranger, is a conundrum. Worse, the attacker demonstrates combat skills that point to special operations training, making him a lethal foe. Worst of all, to search for the intruder is to leave Sophie unguarded.