Paul Cutler is a former undercover operative, now working off the books for his handler, Malik Khalil. When Cutler is tasked with investigating the disappearance of an Australian marine scientist on a Taiwanese distant water fishing vessel, Cutler realises that the apparent murder he's investigating points to a slew of much darker crimes. Onboard, Cutler discovers that the vessel's crew members are kept as slaves, subject to brutal punishment and forced to work long hours with little rest. And when he learns of the recent massacre of the crew of an Indonesian fishing vessel in the same waters, he realises his quest for the truth will be meaningless if he cannot escape with his life.

David Whish-Wilson is the author of ten novels and three creative non-fiction books. He was born in Newcastle, NSW but raised in Singapore, Victoria and Western Australia. At 18, he left Australia to live for a decade in Europe, Africa and Asia, where he worked as a barman, actor, streetseller, petty criminal, labourer, travel agent, teacher and drugtrial guinea pig. He currently lives in Fremantle, WA, with his partner and three kids, and teaches creative writing at Curtin University.