Chain

As parents do every morning, Rachel Klein dropped her daughter off at the bus stop and started her day. But a call from an unknown number on her cell phone turned things upside down: a woman told her that Caylee was being held captive, strapped to the back seat of her car, and if she ever wanted to see her again, she had to follow her instructions to the letter: pay a ransom and find another child to kidnap.
But this kidnapping was unusual: the caller was a mother whose son had been kidnapped, and if Rachel didn't do what she asked, he would be killed.
"You're not the first. And you certainly won't be the last."
Rachel is now part of the chain, an ingenious, endlessly ongoing project that turns a victim into a criminal—while someone else, in turn, gains obscene wealth. The rules of the game are simple, and the moral challenges are beyond imagining: find the money quickly, find your victim, and then commit a heinous act you never thought you were capable of, even 24 hours ago. But the chain's masterminds know that parents will do anything for their children. And kidnapping is just the beginning. As parents do every morning, Rachel Klein dropped off her daughter at the bus stop and began her day. But a call from an unknown number on her mobile phone turned everything upside down: the caller was a woman who informed her that she was holding Kylie captive, tied to the backseat of her car. If Rachel wanted to see her daughter again, she had to follow her instructions to the letter: pay a ransom and find a new child to be kidnapped.

But this kidnapping was unlike any other: the caller was herself the mother of a kidnapped boy, and if Rachel didn't do what she was asked, her son would be killed.