One of Richard West's university students disappears aſter Richard advises her to tell the police of the proposition made to her by Miriam Samu, head of the Christchurch Visa Office. Her friends believe she has been abducted and forced to work in the sex trade. Another student, Ayumi, is beaten up when she demands answers. Policewoman Rebecca Nolan is suspended for becoming involved. The trail leads to the Tall Oaks Resort, a horrible death, a gruesome discovery in an old gold mine, and a life and death struggle in a whirlpool.