And the author’s ability to conjure the harsh desert landscape is remarkable. No gritty detail is omitted, but rather than seeming tedious, this takes us wholly into Gemma’s experience like no account of an abduction I’ve ever read. We are made privy to every sight, smell, taste, and perception of Gemma as she struggles from day to day to come to terms with her fate. But it is not the suspense that is so riveting but the process that gets us there. We know that something about Gemma’s captivity will change, because Gemma is writing this letter to Ty, but we don’t know what it will be until near the end. The fear, anguish, acceptance and finally love of the camel for his captors is as compelling and heartbreaking as Gemma and Ty’s story. Mirroring their story is a subplot in which Ty captures and tames a camel for them to use for milk and transportation. Slowly, however, Gemma gets to know Ty, and her feelings change. But she is terrified for a long time, and is convinced he is just waiting for the opportunity to kill her. He wants to teach her about the desert and the beauty of natural things.
He tells her he wanted to rescue her from the shallowness of her life, because he knows she would want more. Ty doesn’t hurt Gemma, nor does he assault her. Ty has been watching Gemma for years, since she was ten, and when she is at the airport on a trip with her parents going from Britain to Vietnam, Ty kidnaps Gemma and takes her to the desert in Australia. The book is written in the first person, in the form of a letter sent from Gemma to Ty. There are basically only two characters: 16-year-old Gemma, and 24-year-old Ty.
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