Michael Altieri

Endangered Species Michael Altieri

When sixteen-year-old Madison Brenna goes missing from her home in Arizona, her mother, Faith, reaches out to the half-sister she has never met to ask for help. Her half-sister Brenda Corrino is a former detective who currently works as a private investigator in Connecticut. When Faith asks her to travel to Arizona to investigate her daughter's case, Brenda agrees to help, even though she has no idea what she's getting herself into.

Once in Arizona, Brenda teams up with Deputy Sheriff Logan Cartwright, who, in addition to looking into Madison's case, is investigating two murders that he thinks are tied to human trafficking. Brenda and the sheriff piece together the few leads they have managed to identify in their individual investigations. Deputy Cartwright, tells her about a similar case in a nearby town where another girl disappeared five years ago. The missing girl recently resurfaced unscathed, but is unwilling to talk about where she has been for the past five years

Faith and her husband have a few secrets of their own that Brenda must scrutinize to rule out possible suspects, including them. The first real break in the case comes when Brenda learns that Faith and her husband, Al, are swingers. She promises to not reveal Faith's secret, as long as it does not get in the way of finding the people responsible for Madison's disappearance.

Brenda and her boyfriend Darren attend a party with her half-sister to observe and investigate her friends under the pretense of participating in partner swapping. As the party winds down, Brenda's unique investigative style has provided her with enough insight into who might be involved in Madison's vanishing act. She informs Sheriff Cartwright of her gut feelings and together they devise a plan to uncover the truth.