this novel contains the true and partly autobiographical story of the life of a young woman in search of a safer and better life for herself and her family. she inadvertently ends up in the ruthless world of human smuggling. fear and exploitation become an everyday part of her life. then, in a split second, she has to make an impossible choice. a choice with disastrous consequences for herself and her family. will her dream of a normal life without danger, fear and poverty ever come true? the novel 'calm waters' provides a shocking insight into the world of human trafficking. about the author norman jansen works for the royal netherlands marechaussee and is an expert in the field of human trafficking and human smuggling. together with his family, he lived in the caribbean region for an extended period of time, where he mainly worked in the field of justice and investigation. since his return to the netherlands he has started writing fiction and non-fiction works. his experience with working under special and difficult circumstances, and living with different cultures in various countries serves as inspiration for his books. the novel 'calm waters' was originally published in dutch in 2018, also by futuro uitgevers.