The Lanyard — Liz Huck; Al Perry

A murder at O'Hare International Airport triggers a crisis for Magda Daroczi, security guard and former Chicago police officer. Suspected of involvement with the mob that killed a business courier, Magda struggles to clear herself. The key to the murder is Stefan Ross, an illegal alien whose supposedly clean record hides a dark past. As the deadly secrets carried by the murdered courier come to light, Magda and Stefan contend with mobsters, the American and Russian governments, and tangled personal loyalties.

For the governments, the goal is national security. For the gangsters, the prize is unlimited wealth and power. For Magda and Stefan, the stakes are their own lives, the lives of those they love, and their future.