Vance Courage and Lauren Gold are on route to Paradise Island, Bahamas to gamble when the twin-engine prop plane they’ve chartered is forced to make an emergency landing on a tiny private island. The pilot, a crusty army veteran named Blade, makes a harrowing landing, then ordering his five passengers to take their baggage and walk to the island’s only resort to wait for the weather to clear. While Vance is away from the table, Lauren sees the plane take off into the sunset, stranding them and two of the three other passengers.

Courage soon realizes his is the only missing baggage. He hurries to the footpath leading to the small runway and finds his belongings strewn on the gravel in the clearing. His duffle bag is turned inside-out, and his passport and gun are gone. Why did they target him, and why did Blade take the third passenger, Tonk, with him? Gold, Courage, and two young budget-minded travelers from California—C.J. and Chan—are forced to spend the night on the island.

When a personal emergency forces Lauren Gold to return to Miami in the morning, Courage joins C.J. and Chan, who’ve mapped out a daring plan to escape the island. Believing they can lead him to the thief, the ex-cop tracks the young couple, soon discovering that his gun and passport haven’t fallen into the hands of an ordinary thief. He’s on the trail of a madman....