When Jessica accepted a friend's invitation to visit the California desert, she didn't expect to find darkness lurking under the blue skies and blinding sun. Violence, human trafficking, and corruption abound, and no one is quite what they seem. To get to the bottom of the injustice that reigns at the border—and help her old friend Gus Bomby find a missing boy—Jessica will have to face down the strange, brutal loner known as Hellbait, and hope to come out the other side in one piece.