The Payback

About the Book

Claudia Lopez waits for her husband at Newark International Airport, unaware that he's gone into hiding in the wake of a botched drug deal.

Now, eight hours after completing the long flight from Bolivia with their infant daughter, she's stranded in the bustling arrivals building, wondering what to do next.

At first, Margot Fortune, the elegant and sympathetic woman who offers her a ride to Manhattan, appears to be her salvation. Claudia will discover that appearances can be deceiving.

Her world will be turned upside-down when, adrift in an unforgiving city, she's threatened with the kidnapping of her baby if she fails to pay back her husband's drug debt.

As Claudia desperately searches for a way out of her nightmare, Margot leads her on a harrowing tour of the Big Apple's dark underbelly and into the shadowy world of high-priced prostitution, drugs and violence.

About the Author

Hilary Hawke studied writing at the Writing Center in Englewood, New Jersey. In addition to her first book, The Payback, she's written the thriller, Poetic Justice and is completing a historical occult novel entitled The Firekeeper. When she's not writing, Ms. Hawke teaches music.