Taken in Contempt by Robin Bowles

How would you feel if on an ordinary day you returned home from work to discover that your partner had disappeared with your child or children?

On 11 March 1999 the son of Robin Bowles found himself in that exact situation - his own son abducted and taken to France by his French-born mother. To the dismay of Robin and her son, they discovered that theirs was not an isolated incident - over 90 similar cases a year are reported to the Australian authorities.

Taken in Contempt combines Robin's own story of extraordinary loss and pain with gripping accounts of equally heart-wrenching testimony from other 'left-behind' parents. These diverse stories describe the heartbreak and danger and, at times, adventure involved, but they also chronicle the incredible courage and the almost insane risks people take in the name of love. Contributors to this book include left-behind parents, abducting parents and some of the abducted children themselves; as well there are the bureaucrats whose job it is to try to restore families amid tears and tough decisions, and the retrievers - men who work in the grey area between law and justice on behalf of other people's children.

Fearlessly exposing all aspects of this modern moral dilemma, Taken in Contempt is moving, engrossing and totally compelling.