Desperate to escape an abusive marriage to a powerful man, Claire Cook needs to escape with a new identity to hide from his long reach. A chance encounter in an airport bar provides her the chance. Eva James tells of her own woes and how she needs to start over. The women hatch a plan to switch airplane tickets and identification to throw their pursuers off the trail.

When Claire lands in Oakland, she discovers two things. Eva’s story was clearly a lie. And Eva’s plane—the one Claire was supposed to be on—crashed and killed everyone on board. Since no one knows, Claire assumes Eva’s identity as she determines her next step. That identity, though, brings a different set of pursuers.