I recently read Priceless by Tom Davis.  It’s the story of man who find himself in a dangerous attempt to rescue helpless girls who are trapped in the Russian sex-slave industry. I could not put the book down, and several times, found myself brought to tears as I read about the hellish plight of these young girls.

I don’t care what book you are reading right now; put it down and read this book.

The only complaint I have is that the book takes place in Russia. I found myself thinking at times, “Well, that’s Russia.”

The tragic fact is that you could change some place names in the book, and the story could happen right here in the United States, or any other country. This is not a problem that happens on the other side of the world. It probably takes place in a city where you live. Check out these statistics (from This website):

• Human trafficking is the third most profitable criminal activity, second after drugs and arms trafficking
• An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked yearly across international borders, and the trade is growing (Department of State. 2004. “Trafficking in Persons Report.” Washington, D.C.; U.S. Department of State.)
• Of the 600,000-800,000 people trafficked, 70 percent are female and 50 percent are children; the majority of these victims are forced into commercial sex trade (ibid)
• The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry (U.S. Department of Justice. 2004. Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2003.)
• Seventy percent of Internet sex shows are in the United States, of which women and children are forced into sexual acts while being taped.
• As many as 7,000 Nepali girls as young as 9 are sold annually into India’s red-light districts, 200,000 in the last decade.
• Afghani women are sold into prostitution in Pakistan for around 600 rupees – less than $4 a pound, depending on their weight.
• About 50,000 Asian, Latin American and Eastern European women and children are trafficked into the United States for sexual exploitation, the going rate between $12,000 and $18,000 each.
• Ten thousand children between the ages of 6 and 14 are in Sri Lankan brothels.
• Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have become the sex centers for Western Europe, featuring women from the former Soviet Union.
  About 1,000 women from the former Soviet Union became prostitutes in Israel in exchange for legal documentation.