In the moments she has remaining, as her battered body surrenders to Death's cold fingers, US Army PFC Gabriel Sumpter's life flashes before her, and her heartbeat slows. Beaten, raped, and left for dead in Afghanistan by a ruthless gang of fellow soldiers who think she's gay, she knows her chances of survival are slim. Even after she's rescued by a friend in the nick of time, the future holds little hope. If she recovers, which seems unlikely, she knows her life will never be the same. Her dream of making the army a career is definitely over, and what kind of life will she have while carrying the scars of her brutal attack, both inside and out? Three years later, still suffering PTSD, Gabriel's working for a battered women's shelter in her hometown of Pittsburgh, when she runs into the friend who saved her life, a man who'd stolen her heart in Afghanistan, and whom she hasn't seen since her rescue. But their budding romance is hampered, not only by Gabriel's PTSD, but she's also the target of a vicious killer and, this time, Death may win...