A 13-year-old crouches in a dark corner of a filthy brothel, her hair dirty and tangled, her eyes hollow and lifeless. The scent of a hundred men clings to her. The look on her face: not “Please help me,” but “I am doomed forever.”

Yet one American woman, a member of the United States Congress, overcomes her sense of revulsion - and her own personal demons - to reach out a hand of help and hope. In this unscripted, unexpected moment, the dynamic global work of Shared Hope International is born.

In the decade since, founder Linda Smith and her team have revolutionized the fight against the multi-billion-dollar sex trafficking industry around the world. Shared Hope’s three-pronged strategy of prevention, rescue, and restoration has saved countless women and girls from the horrors of modern-day slavery.

In these pages, you’ll meet several of the victims. You’ll encounter their astonishing, heart-rending accounts…but you’ll also witness their thrilling transformations. This is a shocking story - at times, you may want to turn away - yet is a story of real hope, the kind of hope that changes the world.

It may even change you.