A Walk Across the Sun

When a tsunami rages through their coastal town in India, 17-year-old Ahalya Ghai and her 15-year-old sister Sita are left orphaned and homeless. As they struggle to reach the safe haven of the convent where they attend school, they are abducted by human traffickers and thrust into a hidden world of sexual violence and illicit commerce, where the most valuable prize is the innocence of a child.
 
Halfway across the world, in Washington, D.C., attorney Thomas Clarke faces his own personal and professional crises. Haunted by the tragic death of his infant daughter and estranged from his wife, he makes the fateful decision to pursue a pro bono sabbatical in India with an NGO that prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers. In Mumbai, his conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the sex trade and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it. When he learns the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a deadly showdown with an international network of ruthless criminals.
 
Spanning three continents and two cultures, A Walk Across the Sun chronicles an unforgettable journey through the underworld of modern slavery and into the darkest-and most resilient-corners of the human heart.
 

Corban Addison holds degrees in law and engineering from the University of Virginia and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. After completing a federal clerkship, Addison began his career specializing in corporate law and litigation. He has an abiding interest in international human rights, and is a supporter of numerous causes, including the abolition of modern slavery. 
 
In researching A Walk Across the Sun, he traveled to India and spent a month with a team of investigators, attorneys and social workers from the International Justice Mission. During his visit, he went undercover into the brothels of Mumbai and met trafficking victims face to face. In addition, he spent time with activists in Paris and with a senior official from the U.S. Department of Justice.
 
He lives with his wife and two children in Virginia. A Walk Across the Sun is his first novel.

"Addison has written a novel that is beautiful in its story and also important in its message. A Walk Across the Sun deserves a wide audience." --John Grisham
 
“Plenty of action and travel …an insightful take on the all-too-real problems of international human trafficking. “--Booklist Online
 
“Chilling, suspenseful, and powerful…The story is compelling, but the message is greater and will leave an impact on everyone who picks up the book. Readers will mourn the injustices depicted and celebrate the triumphs long after the last page is turned.”-Library Journal
 
"[An] ambitious compassionate debut." --Christian Science Monitor
 
“A pulse-revving novel with a serious message.” --O, The Oprah Magazine