Christina Preston, a young American exchange student is kidnapped in Santa Marta—the historic capital of Magdalena, Colombia while pursuing a degree in environmental studies at a prestigious university. In typical youthful passion and defiance, Christina went to Colombia against the advice of her dad – Texas billionaire, Mike Preston. Her dream of becoming a research scientist was shattered on a cloudy, overcast and chilly October morning, when masked gunmen stormed the university tour bus, en route to Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino. Mike Preston is devastated when he learns of his daughter's fate. Preston does what any caring father would do. He hires a retired United States Navy Seal, John Bradley to find Christina. In utter desperation, Preston also seeks assistance from a highly influential figure in Washington, imploring him to exert pressure on the Colombian authorities. Bradley gave Preston a commitment to free Christina and make her captors pay a heavy price for the pain and anguish. He heads to Colombia, travelling through dense jungle terrain and treacherous swamps. Along the way, he encounters huge venomous snakes and other hazards. A fisherman from Taganga Bay accepts Bradley's money in exchange for a midnight rendezvous near a secluded cove, notorious for pirates and drug dealers. Bradley's efforts to find Christina are frustrated by a sinister twist—Rebel guerrilla fighters have infiltrated the upper echelons of a key military establishment. And while Christina languishes somewhere in the impregnable forest of the Sierra Nevada; her dad waits anxiously for news from the South American mainland.