I’ve not managed to get my logline entered into the wonderful Miss Snark’s Logline Critique sessions, But Steena Holmes at Chocolate Reality is kindly hosting a Logline Blogfest. Check it out and comment on the other participants and you could win a query critique or a critique of the first 5-10 pages of your manuscript by Michelle McClean.

So, my logline:

Helen, desperate to escape London and her life of waitressing, petty thievery and failed relationships, buys a one-way ticket to idyllic Sri Lanka. However, she arrives in the midst of a full-scale civil war. She falls for gentle Raghunath but he is imprisoned on suspicion of terrorist activities. When he disappears, believed dead, Helen is distraught. She needs money to bribe the police for information. Wooed by Ian, son of a local politician, Helen accompanies him to Thailand on a risky gem-dealing escapade. Will she return alive? Will she discover the truth about Raghunath? Will she change her life?

Second attempt after taking in all the comments, feels a bit clunky but here goes:

Helen, desperate to escape her London life of petty crime moves to Sri Lanka where she is swept up in the turmoil of the country’s civil war. When the man she falls in love with is imprisoned and later disappears in suspicious circumstances, she has to decide if it worth risking her life to discover the truth.

Third attempt:.. still clunky I think:

Helen, desperate to escape her London life of petty crime moves to Sri Lanka where she is swept up in the turmoil of the country’s civil war. When the man she falls in love with is imprisoned on suspicion of being a Tamil Tiger she must risk her life to discover the the truth about his subsequent disappearance.