Lara Bernhardt

Shadow of the Taj Lara Bernhardt

"Lara Bernhardt writes with ferocious honesty and tenderness, laying open the ugly world of the trafficking of young girls with a bright spear of hope."-Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times best-selling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

Oklahoma Book Award Best Fiction Finalist

How much would you risk to save one child?

Leslie Matthews travels to India with her husband on a business trip, never expecting it will turn her life upside-down. During a trip to the zoo, she meets Raveena, an orphan desperate for someone to save her from a harrowing fate. Leslie tries to rescue Raveena from a sordid, exploitative underworld, but powerful and brutal men hold the girl and don't intend to let anyone take her. Leslie tumbles into a terrifying underworld of systemic abuse she knows nothing about. But she won't stop until Raveena is safe, regardless of the cost.

In a battle against impossible odds, Leslie wagers everything she has-including her life-to free Raveena.

Shadow of the Taj is a deeply moving, inspirational novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. A must read!