"On the worldwide black market, the third most profitable commodity after illegal weapons and drugs is human flesh: women and girls from all over Eastern Europe, sold for sex by the networks of organized crime that became entrenched in the aftermath of the fall of communism. "Natasha" is what they're called in Israel and in Turkey, whether they're actually from Russia, Moldova, the Czech Republic, Romania, or Ukraine, and whatever their real names may be. They're lured into vans and onto airplanes with promises of jobs as waitresses, models, or nannies. But when they arrive at their destinations, they are stripped of their identification, and their nightmare begins. They are sold into prostitution as human chattel in a veritable epidemic of modern slavery. Escape is unlikely, for their handlers consider them wholly expendable. Those who resist are beaten and sometimes killed." "As Victor Malarek reveals, their stories are only the tip of a very large iceberg. The trade in women thrives because of a global pattern of institutional corruption, and Malarek's investigation implicates everyone from immigration officials to police officers and international peacekeepers. The resulting book is a startling and unforgettable call to action."--P. [4] of jacket..

"First published in Canada in 2003 by Viking Canada" with subrtitle: inside the new global sex trade. Includes index.