Trafficked

July 1, 2013
At age 18, British national Hayes was lured from her family by a 19-year-old Albanian illegal immigrant named Kas, abducted into Italy, and forced into prostitution at gunpoint to pay off his enormous debts. Her harrowing story reads like a real life version of the Liam Neeson film Taken, except for that story’s quick resolution. Hayes describes in detail the six months she spent as a sex slave—working seven nights a week, servicing “on average, about twenty-five customers every night.” The book is a gripping if grim look at the psychology behind the pimp-whore relationship: Kas plays upon Hayes’s emotional vulnerability and lack of self-worth: “Kas’s anger with me was justified and he was right: I was far too stupid to be loved by anyone... gradually, as the minutes and the hours ticked by, my mind shut down and the numbness almost obliterated the fear and revulsion.” She finally gathered the courage to contact her family for help and returned to England, where she is now the founder of her own antitrafficking charity, the Sophie Hayes Foundation. Her disturbing look at sex slavery starkly raises awareness and should achieve her stated goal that the story “might help to keep other girls safe.” Agent: Diane Banks, Diane Banks Associates.