Why would the man largely credited with saving 18-month-old “Baby Jessica” McClure in a harrowing 58-hour rescue meet his demise by his own hand? The answer is complex with the nuances of the human experience amid social and economic pressures.

The rescue of Jessica McClure was a worldwide event with news of the rescue broadcast all over the world, resulting in a shower of attention on Midland, Texas – a West Texas town in the oil-rich Permian Basin struggling with an economic crisis forced by international politics and industry pressures.

The book explores the rescue and the tragic aftermath faced by those who were closest to the rescue, providing insight on their lives in a non-linear story to bring together the details of the 1987 rescue with the insight around their lives and how the emerging 24-hours news cycle and its viewers played a role.

Packed with details from the rescue told through the perspective of the rescuers and media on the scene, the book establishes a cohesive narrative in a non-linear timeline to help readers understand the relationship between the rescue itself and the resulting fallout that affected professional emergency responders and volunteers.