In 2006 Emily and Tony Hughes and their little boy Oliver are on holiday at Chalons Du Bois in France. Tony and his son visit a bar which is crowded due to patrons watching a football match on television, to get a drink, but when Tony turns round Oliver has gone. Tony contacts the local police and asks for English-speaking Laurence Relaud to continue to be involved with the investigation. Parisian detective Julien Baptiste soon joins and leads the search and issues an abduction alert. Emily's parents Penny and Robert turn up, Robert suggesting that Oliver has been kidnapped out of revenge. Also on the scene are journalist Malik Suri and the English police liaison officer Mark Walsh with his young son. Eight years later Emily has moved on and is now living with Mark. Tony however has never stopped trying to find Oliver and, accompanied by Julien, who is now retired, visits a house in the village where there is evidence that Oliver has stayed. He rings Emily, who in turn contacts Malik, who has written a book about the disappearance.