In February 1985, three brothers and their wives travel to Rio de Janeiro to see the carnival. On the last day of their holiday, one of the women disappears in a busy marketplace. Despite a frantic search, the others have to return to Britain and leave the search to the Brazilian police. They are left to wonder and worry about what happened to Jean. There was no ransom note, and the money in her bank account was never touched. Seven years later, her husband, Norman, has to go through the distressing procedure to have his wife, Jean, declared to be "missing presumed dead." How could an English woman simply disappear? Is she being held against her will and forced to live in one of the favelas? Is she still alive, or has she been killed and buried in a secret grave? Will they ever discover the truth about what happened to Jean? Will she ever be found, or will she remain forever lost in Rio?