What if you could disappear forever? Pretense Abdicator is whip-smart, socially awkward and angry. When passed over for a well-deserved promotion at the prestigious financial firm of Crawford Spectrum, she hatches a get-even plan. Embezzle money from her wealthiest clients, assume a new identity, and flee the country. With over $2 million stashed in an offshore bank account under an alias, Pretense is certain she has pulled off the perfect crime. Only one more money transfer and she is home free. But on September 11, 2001, she is summoned to her manager's office on the eighty-ninth floor of the World Trade Center. As her boss and the FBI are confronting her with ironclad evidence of embezzlement, a passenger plane hits the North Tower and Pretense takes that opportunity to make a run for it. Presumed dead, Pretense flees to a tropical island, leaving behind an abusive mother and years of desolate loneliness. While anticipating the start of a dream life, she instead discovers the true meaning of friendship and love. As her desire for material wealth fades, her quest to untangle her deceptive past spirals out of control. From the author of The Essence of Shade, this compelling story will keep the reader cheering for the protagonist until the very end.