Traveling with the family is the children’s nanny, Penny Shepherd. Penny and Jack have been best friends since their days at Princeton. Before they can return, they are abducted by kidnappers hired by someone called the Employer. After the truth is revealed, the Employer leaves after a final goodbye and Penny and Jack are left to try and survive, still as captives.

The nightmare continues for Jack and Penny, kidnapped by someone they never believed could be so evil. The revelation at the end of Deceptions has left them raw and angry but still, they are prisoners. They struggle to survive with the help of one hope – being freed from their ordeal to return to Jack’s cabin in the mountains. They face moments of pain, humiliation, and questioning as they wait for rescue. While Jack and Penny struggle, their family back home are both spinning in time as they wait for Jack and Penny’s rescue yet also moving forward with their lives. It is an odd contrast as Jack’s siblings raise Jack’s children while also binding their individual loves. Although worried and stuck in gray days due to the kidnapping, they find bright spots that remind everyone that there is still good in the world. This is the second publishing of Aftermath, a story that spans many years and documents the important and close relationship between two friends and how they support each other during an unthinkable experience. The main characters have been kidnapped and so do not spend the story sitting around eating bonbons and watching Netflix. There are depictions of situational violence.

Time continues to march on with no end in sight for kidnapping victim Jack Petrov. His family holds out hope that one day he will be found and they will all be reunited but although they have that hope, they do wonder “what if?” Despite the stress and unknowns of the situation, the Petrovs continue on with their lives but the unthinkable happens again. With another Petrov missing, the question remains – will they ever be together again?