This high-interest, low-vocabulary novella is intended for adult basic education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) readers. Anna Sweet, ex-cop turned waitress, is bar-hopping her way across the U.S.A. But a middle-of-the-night phone call to Anna's hotel room in Kermit, Texas, is about to end her life on the road. The brakes on her sister Cheri's car have failed, and she's lying banged up in an Ottawa hospital. Cheri warns that unless Anna comes right home, she will be dead by Christmas. Anna has more than enough reason to stay away from her hometown. Yet her sister's terror is a calling card she cannot ignore. Is Cheri's life really in danger? Or is this another bid for attention? A doubting Anna Sweet is about to find out. Lexile level: HL560L