Years ago, the Gypsy Kumpania where Janeal Mikkado lived was attacked by outsiders. With her best friend about to be consumed by a fire, Janeal had two options: try to save her friend - at serious risk to her own life - or disappear with the million dollars that she had just discovered . . .

But the past is quickly coming back to haunt her. Both the best friend and the boyfriend that she was sure were dead have reappeared in her life, as has someone who knows about the money. There's a debt to be paid for the money she found, but there's an even greater debt she must face - and if the chaff isn't burned from her own heart, it will consume her.

Dekker is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and religion, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multicultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor¹s Degree from Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, Dekker entered the corporate world as a store manager for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.

However, Dekker was not satisfied in his current career and began writing at night and on the weekends. By 1997 he was writing fulltime. He states that each time he writes, he finds his vision of God just a little clearer and his expression of that vision a little more vivid. Dekker recently reached the million mark in sales and has won numerous awards including a Christy, Gold Medallion, and the Retailers Choice Award.

Ted Dekker lives in the mountains of Colorado on a small ranch with his wife LeeAnn and their four children.