GLOBE, Ariz., Nov. 24, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- In a controversial perception of sex, drugs, love and the paradoxical nature of people, Steve Pruitt offers his new novel, DAYS OF LOST INNOCENCE (now available through 1st Books). The book follows the life and events of a young female, Cheri Rose Steele, and her abductor as they traverse the West one step ahead of the law, leaving behind her family and her home. Forced to give up all that she knows for a new existence, she loves to antagonize her kidnaper.
DAYS OF LOST INNOCENCE, as told in a diary she keeps during her ordeal as a captive, is a unique, compelling and controversial story that illustrates the often contradictory and puzzling nature of human emotions and perceptions of reality.
Cheri Rose is Native-American and grows up with hardships in her young life, but what happens on the fateful night of her kidnapping and afterward defies her imagination. Throughout her life, she'd never felt totally loved or accepted by her mother, and just as she begins to feel more comfortable with her feelings, she meets a man that changes her life forever. He's known as Trader Jack, but his real name is Jesse. He is bright, charming, and has rugged good looks, but he also has a ruthless, dark past.
After Jesse abducts Cheri Rose, he holds her in complete captivity, leaving her perplexed, distressed and unable to understand his reasoning. His motivation becomes very clear as the pair flees Arizona for Reno, Nev. Cheri's world spins out of control as they move again, this time to Washington. She knows she must mature quickly or die in his strange world of insanity.
After a short period with Jesse, Cheri Rose realizes one thing about him. He is a cunningly shrewd drug dealer that has a plan and a scheme to be a drug kingpin. She fears for her life and wonders if she will ever see her mother again. Jesse manages to subdue Cheri Rose with chains, love and brainwashing. She must learn to survive for the moment, release the memories of her past and prepare for her future to escape or, perhaps, die trying.
With Jesse's occupation, life or death is always balancing on the edge. Cheri Rose never knows where this fickle twist of fate will lead. She tries to trust him. Sometimes, she has no other choice, but this stretches the boundaries of sanity. She often escapes into her own fantasies, becoming two people with one heartbeat. One wants to escape and see Jesse punished. The other feels a strange, inexplicable connection to him.
As the drug wars in the United States begin to take center stage, DEA Special Agent Richard A. Lennox trails this infamous drug baron, "The Kingfish," as the DEA has named him. Lennox is obsessed with putting Jesse out of business and will do anything in his power to destroy his drug empire.
How will this mottled mix of violence, crime and love end?
Find out in DAYS OF LOST INNOCENCE, Pruitt's riveting new novel.
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