The 1980s: a decade when thousands of children vanished--and most were never found. When six-year-old Charlotte Mercer disappears from her front yard in Silver Spring, Maryland, rookie FBI Agent Daisy Adams is thrust into a case that feels more like a haunting. There are no witnesses. No clues. Daisy has seen horror before--but nothing like this. As the investigation deepens, so does her fear. Because every missing child reminds her of her own daughter, Lila. And the more she digs into Charlotte's disappearance, the more she's forced to confront the question she's spent years avoiding: What if one day, it's Lila who vanishes? Inspired by real events, The First Thread is a chilling psychological thriller about the monsters hiding in plain sight--and the parents who live in fear of hearing the words: your child is missing.