The Great Depression was a time of desperation in America—parents struggled to feed their children and unemployment was at a record high. But amidst this panic, there was one sure-fire way to make money, one used by criminals and resourceful civilians alike: kidnapping. Here the Edgar Award-winning author of Carolina Skeletons explores the reports of missing people that inundated newspapers at the time, exploring the methods used, the investigative processes, and the personal histories of the culprits and victims. All of this culminates with the most infamous abduction in American history, the one that targeted an international celebrity and changed legislation forever: the Lindbergh kidnapping.