In the heart of the desert is a city of skyscrapers and unbelievable wealth, but beneath its glossy surface lies the misery of sex trafficking, violence and ruined lives. A brutal world Elena willingly enters to rescue her daughter, placing herself in jeopardy and risking everything for a mother’s love.Kristina travels thousands of miles for the job of her dreams, only to find that she has been betrayed. Trapped and forced to work as a prostitute; under constant fear of a brutal as...

A heart-stopping story of lies, brutality and fear. British girl Megan Stephens tells the true story of how an idyllic Mediterranean holiday turned into an unimaginable nightmare when she was tricked into becoming a victim of human trafficking and held captive for six years by deception, threats and violence.While on holiday with her mother at a popular Mediterranean coastal resort, Megan fell in love. Just 14 years old, naïve and vulnerable, she had no reason to suspect that the m...

"He would say to me, ‘You can’t stop me – no one can!’ There was no let-up from his evil. I knew he would never stop, so I just had to do what I could to survive."Mandy Thomas was just 18 when she met the man who would change her life forever. She was soon under his spell – and then her real nightmare began. Mandy found herself part of a cruel and violent relationship that she couldn’t escape. Until one day he went too far…You Can’t Run is Mandy’s searingl...

Growing up in a quiet, middle-class suburb outside of Amsterdam, childhood best friends Anna and Olivia had their whole lives ahead of them. But every parent's worst nightmare came true when the teenagers fell in with the wrong crowd. Eleven years their senior, Ricardo was charming and good-looking - and Anna and Olivia easy prey. Blind to his grooming, the girls were soon trapped in a terrifying cycle of sexual and physical abuse.But their nightmare was only just beginning.

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERA heartbreaking memoir from a girl who escaped county line trafficking only to become prey to other abusers…Emily has always felt like an outsider, so when a family friend takes her under his wing she is delighted. But soon it becomes clear that his motives are not all they seem.At the age of 11, Emily is groomed into being a ‘county lines’ drug trafficker. It is the beginning of a vicious cycle that sees ...

When Zoe was taken into care at the age of 13, she thought she was finally going to escape from the cruel abuse she had suffered throughout her childhood. Then social services placed her in a residential unit known to be 'a target for prostitution', and suddenly Zoe's life was worse than it had ever been before.Abused and ostracized by her mother, humiliated by her father’s sexual innuendos, physically assaulted and bullied by her eldest brother, even as a young child Zoe thought s...

He’d been her friend for years. He said he loved her. Then she realised she didn’t know him at all…When everything seemed to be falling apart in Sophie’s life, she was thankful for her friend Kas, who was always at the end of a phone, ready to listen and to offer comfort and advice.Her father’s cold dislike of her and then her parents’ divorce had left her with a deep distrust of men. But, gradually, Kas made her believe there was at least one man who truly cared about her.

**Now watch the BBC drama Doing Money**‘They took me because I would not be missed’This is the shocking true story of how an ordinary young girl was kidnapped off the street as she walked home and turned into a slave – before fighting for her freedom and finding the courage to help the police in one of the UK’s most shocking modern-day slavery trials.Anna was an innocent student when she was kidnapped, beat...

From the bestselling author of the Thrown Away Children series comes another heartbreaking story of life in foster care.Louise has trouble on her hands from the first moment that 5-year-old Billy Blackthorn comes to stay. He is one of more than 20 children taken into care from a single family, and erupts into the Allen household with a volatility that is frightening and disturbing in equal measure. It is only as Louise begins to uncover the secrets of Billy's dark past that she beg...

‘Asperger’s made me a prisoner in my own home. When I finally entered the real world, evil was waiting.’A shocking true account of one girl’s harrowing journey to survival.Sophie Crockett spent most of her childhood suffering from crippling anxiety. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, she became a virtual prisoner in her own home, afraid to venture outside. After battling with depression, eating disorders and self-harm, Sophie had the courage to re...

‘Each time my mother laid a finger on me… it was another step into the jaws of hell. Her abuse, more so than any other, destroyed me. It was the ultimate betrayal.’Abused from the age of eight by her older brother and then her step-father, Maureen Wood quickly became numb to the constant suffering. But Maureen’s world crumbled when her own mother started to abuse her too…A Family Secret is the harrowing true story of how one little girl survived sickening ...

Her sister was in danger. Jazmin knew there was only one option if she wanted to make sure she was safe. 'Come on, Pearl,' she whispered. 'Let's get you out of here.'Jazmin was only thirteen when she was taken into care, after asking to be removed from her mum herself. Tired and worn down by her mum's drinking and relationships with men who would threaten Jazmin, she spent her teenage years in care. Now, at eighteen, she is finally settled with...