A man. A tiger. A tornado. Jared Montaine owns a big cat rescue in Florida and faces financial pressures, getting over his ex-wife, and the challenge of suburbia creeping ever closer to his enclave for the animals. But when a tornado wrecks part of the refuge, Jared's worst fear comes to life: his Siberian tiger, Sultan, escapes. It's a big cat handler’s nightmare: a tiger on the loose, confused, lost -- and hungry. Jared races against the police, the media, and the hysterical public, all of whom are clamoring for the tiger's hide. He must re-capture Sultan before the cat is killed -- by traffic, by SWAT, or by a civilian who just wants to shoot a tiger. With fellow wildlife handlers at his side, Jared fights desperately to find and capture Sultan before the tiger injures or kills a human. Because that would lead to his worst nightmare -- having to kill the tiger he hand-raised from a cub. Jared’s commitment is tested -- to his animals, his refuge, and his belief that saving the life of even one tiger is worth losing everything.

The Tiger Whisperer

Peter pulled off his John Lennon-style glasses and rubbed his nose. He wore a scruffy beard and looked nearly the same as he did when they’d met at the refuge twelve years before: longish hair a la graduate assistant, a pudgy belly that belied his strength when it came to hauling around animals that weighed hundreds of pounds, and an elfin look that fit his cheery personality. Jared had never heard him utter any invective stronger than “Oh, shoot.” “Puppy piss” was another one. For Peter, swearing meant that emotion had over-ruled intellect, a bad strategy.


Peter thumbed his clipboard, clicking the metal paper holder. “We’ll handle the inspector. You’ve got a Kiwanis presentation on Thursday. We still need to prep the slides. And Katherine needs a check for Sam’s to get this quarter’s dinner, Saturday night.”


Jared reached for his checkbook. “We got any licenses to hand out this time?”


“No, but Dean has hit his 1,000 hours so he can apply.”


Chapter 8