When fourteen-year-old Daniel Robinson is abducted during a game of hide-and-seek, his focus switches from enjoying his summer vacation to simply staying alive. He must find the courage and strength to escape his captors and get home, no matter what it takes. Will he survive? Or is this a nightmare that’s too real to escape?
As Daniel finds himself at the mercy of his captors, his best friend Kyle sets out to bring him back to safety. With nothing but teenage instincts to guide him, Kyle’s quest could result in a happy ending—or in tragedy.
In his first novel, author Ian Dawson draws from his real-life experiences to create an action-adventure story about unconditional friendship, courage, and determination.
Welcome to The Field.
The Field was inspired by my own kidnapping experience when I was thirteen when I was abducted and held captive for hours by two older boys in the field behind our neighborhood. I used that experience in order to create the novel that exists today.
The genesis of the novel began as a first-person short story that evolved into a novel with themes of friendship, courage, and determination woven throughout the story. While a lot of the material in the book is fiction, many aspects are true to the terrifying situation I found myself in over 25 years ago.
I am proud to share this story with you and look forward to hearing what you think.

Haunted by the traumatic events of his abduction two years ago, sixteen-year-old Daniel Robinson has tried everything to make his escalating nightmares vanish. Failing to cope with it on his own, Daniel knows it’s only a matter of time before his family, best friend, and his girlfriend notice the lingering effects of his insomnia. Will Daniel reach out for help, or allow the nightmares to consume his sanity?
Meanwhile, Daniel’s best friend, Kyle Hanson, has been invited by Enterprise’s Varsity basketball captain to take part in the Varsity team’s rituals at the mysterious Midnight House. Skeptical of their motives, Daniel takes matters into his own hands to find out what’s going on at the secretive hideaway. Is this Kyle’s chance to prove himself to the Varsity team, or is something more sinister at play?
As the boys navigate through the complications of new friendships, jealousy, romance, and high school, their unbreakable bond and the strength of their friendship will be tested.
Can they survive what’s waiting at Midnight House?