Book excerpt: In 2008, a fourteen-year-old Maya is raped by a family member. As a cover up, she is forced to marry a sixty-year-old man who already has three wives, several children and grandchildren older than her. Soon after delivery, her brute husband learns of the hidden truth, and all hell breaks loose. Langa is an orphan, adopted by a wealthy Greek couple. He has a chance at real happiness until his adoptive mother dies. His adoptive father turns to alcohol and eventually sexual abuse. When the odious man finally dies, Langa is left with nothing. At a crossroads, both on his sexual orientation and unpredictable future, the eighteen-year-old sets off to make his way in the unknown world. Lucilla is born into a family already torn apart by ruthless bandits. Her broken parents end up dead, leaving her to fight for survival by any means necessary. Now, in 2012, a handsome banker, a sexy undercover agent, and a desperate prostitute clash in a single act of betrayal that leaves hearts broken and destinies derailed. Attempting to overcome the ghosts of their haunted pasts, Maya, Langa and Lucilla unleash a sequence of events that swings the pendulum of the judicial system, saves the republic from a critical error of judgment, and opens a historic chapter for children rights, social equality, and gender diversity. Still, the past lingers, so what is the price they must pay to let it go?