An introverted single mother risks her life to find her kidnapped five-year-old son when the police fail and she can no longer trust those closest to her.

SYNOPSIS:

MISSING CLAYTON

Synopsis

Clayton was in his backyard building a sandcastle five minutes ago. Now the sandbox is empty, as is the back yard. Jenny Kingsley sees the front gate open and swinging on its hinges. Her seven-year-old son can’t manage the latch.

Jenny searches the yard and the nearby streets but can’t find him. Steve Townsend, her neighbor, hears her cries and offers to help. He prays nothing will happen this time. When Steve returns alone, they call the police.

Recently separated and relocated, Jenny left behind an abusive husband, and a controlling mother. Ray thought more of his buddies and the brown bottle than being a father and husband.

Now, he accuses Jenny of neglecting their son. Media and spectators line the street – snapping pictures, hurling questions, casting accusations. Jenny must deal with them, the police, and her own guilt. Not to mention worrying about Clayton’s asthma. Her mother’s rebukes do nothing to ease her pain.

Days pass, with no sign of Clayton. Detectives ask Jenny to identify a dead child. Thankfully, it is not her son. But Jenny must come to terms with the terrors of her own mind– nightmares of seeing Clayton dead, seeing his face in the dead child’s, or in a child in the park. Taking control of her life, Jenny becomes more independent and confident. Steve is supportive and active in the search for Clayton. A relationship is building, but Steve has secrets of his own.

Jenny befriends Tyrell, a delivery person for the local grocery store. Back from the war, Tyrell is injured and bitter. Jenny reminds him of the wife who left him, taking his child with her. Police check his secluded cabin but don’t find the trap door to the dugout below.

Tyrell becomes worried when Clayton develops a cough. He doesn’t want another child to die. He takes him to a hospital where he steals a puffer. Tyrell also breaks into Jenny’s home. While there he becomes aroused with thoughts of ‘taking’ her. His plans are thwarted when Steve brings home a drunken Ray. Later that night, Jenny realizes the intruder took Clayton’s clothes and his teddy bear. Is Clayton alive?

The puffer the man brings him helps his breathing, but Clayton continues to cough. One day a dog digs his way under the cabin. Clayton realizes that if the dog can get in, there must be a way out.

Jenny follows the path and finds Steve unconscious and bleeding. Tyrell grabs her and drags her his cabin.

In the end, good triumphs over evil. Clayton is safe in his mother’s arms. Steve’s name is cleared and he and Jenny are free to explore the growing attraction between them.