The White Van — Patrick Hoffman

At a dive bar in San Francisco's edgy Tenderloin district, drug-hustling Emily Rosario is drinking whiskey and looking for an escape from her desperate lifestyle. When she is approached by a Russian businessman, she thinks she might have found her exit. A week later -- drugged, disoriented and wanted for robbery -- Emily finds herself on the run for her life.

When cop Leo Elias -- broke, alcoholic and desperate -- hears about an unsolved bank robbery, the stolen money proves too strong a temptation. Elias takes the case into his own hands, hoping to find Emily and the money before anyone else does.

A sharply drawn cast of characters -- dirty cops, Russian drug dealers, Chinese black-market traders, street smart Cambodians, and shady entrepreneurs -- all take part in this unflinching tour through San Francisco's underbelly. Hoffman writes with unstoppable momentum and produces twists that will surprise until the end.