I was struggling to make sense of the huge American hotel and how to navigate my way up and down the building by escalator and lift. It was very obvious that I was a stranger here, so I was an easy target for the malicious teenage girl who pinned me against a wall and pushed several soft clear gel tablets into my mouth.

I couldn’t be certain, but I was pretty sure that I had been forced to overdose on recreational drugs for the entertainment of others. My only hope for survival lay in the hands of my friend JM, officially on business in the US – and now responsible for my rescue.