EXCERPT: The soft, persistent scratching coming from his left was so faint that Lucas Stuart wondered if he had only imagined it. Turning his head, he was able to catch a momentary glimpse of the tapering end of the rat's tail as the rodent crouched behind a bamboo post. The rest of its emaciated body remained hidden by the sturdy struts of the cage that enclosed Lucas and Angela. The rat was trying to gnaw on the sisal ropes that held the poles together, hoping to obtain some nourishment from any source. Nutrition continued to be meager in this desolate place, for man and animal alike.