The Cold Light of Day

Grace Hamilton, a young woman working for a down at heel investment bank in London, is surprised to receive an approach from a group called the Elishama Corporation based in Gutenburg, North Dakota. The role is far more senior than her current position and the pay is more than twice what she is earning. Unable to resist the allure of Elishama, she flies out to Gutenburg to start her new job.

Initially Elishama appears to be everything she hoped it would be. The organisation is friendly and progressive and she quickly makes friends with another recent recruit, Louise. The work is hard but rewarding.

Grace's family are less sure about the wisdom of her moving to work for Elishama. Communication with Grace is difficult, and they hire an investigator, John Kratsky, to investigate the organisation. Kratsky is initially sceptical that Elishama is anything other than what it purports to be, but the interest of his ex-colleagues in the security services sparks his interest, and he begins to dig deeper.

Grace first becomes concerned when her mentor, Heather, disappears. She begins to believe that Elishama is not what it seems, but she hesitates to break away as she finds a new soulmate, Ben. However, when her friend, Louise, also disappears she believes that her own life may be at risk.

Kratsky uncovers a complex web of money-laundering that involves not just the key players in Elishama, but the government too. Anxious now to ensure Grace's safety, he goes to Gutenburg, but the government is determined to protect their operations and the result is a desperate escape without Grace.

Grace, unsure whether she can trust Ben, or whether she is putting him at risk too, makes her own desperate escape attempt as the real nature of Elishama is finally uncovered.