Invisible

What would you risk to regain lost love? Would you gamble losing your freedom? Would you jeopardize close personal friendships? Would you place your reputation in peril? Would you compromise your moral freedom? These are the questions facing Garrett Woodruff when the love of his life, Abby Richter, returns. Her callous departure when Garrett was fighting in the jungles of Vietnam broke his spirit. Garrett went to law school after the war, but he became disenchanted with the practice of law and the hubris of the firm's partners whose legal pedigrees spanned multiple generations. He knew his life's work was not meant for a starched collar, Italian loafer law firm. Garrett's overriding desire was to officiate major college football. Yet, he knew his chances were remote. Like the masses, he was flawed -- he was divorced twice, suffered flashbacks from the horrors of war, and he lacked connections in a career where who you knew outweighed what you knew. An unusual series of events connected Garrett with Butch Macinski, an icon among Midwest Conference officials. With assistance from Butch, Garrett realized his dream. He joined Butch, "e;Smash"e; Jones, Slade Arlington, and the other members of the prestigious crew known as the God Squad. As he reaches the height of his officiating career, Abby Richter comes back into his life. She professes her love for Garrett and promises to divorce Dmitri, her Russian mobster husband, and return to Garrett. There is one condition. Abby has stolen millions of dollars from her husband's mob activities. She asks Garrett to shave points on a game so that she can wager on the contest. Her intent is to replace the money before her husband knows it's missing and keep the winnings to begin a new life with Garrett. The flaws in Abby's plan surface not long after she returns to Garrett. She realizes she lacks knowledge of gambling or even how to place a bet. Her husband becomes suspicious, and Abby's life is now in peril. She must flee Edina, Minnesota, with her husband's money, for the imagined safety of her childhood home in South Haven, Michigan. The bond among football officials is demonstrated when Ellen Macinski, Butch's wife, aids in Abby's clandestine departure. Ellen has grown close to Garrett, who she loves like a son, and she is willing to risk her own safety to help her husband's best friend. Set against a backdrop of romance, camaraderie, greed, and treachery, the reader follows the God Squad through the 1999 college football season, where the true story of what it's like to officiate big time football unfolds. Hints of doubt begin to appear in Garrett's mind. Can he trust Abby? He doesn't know if he can follow through with the unethical and illegal deed. The mysterious and seductive Phoebe McKinney, credit manager at a large Las Vegas hotel, appears on the scene and offers to escort Abby through the minefield of high stakes gambling. When Phoebe shows Abby another way to live her life, the sinister plot threatens to unravel.