The Unlikely Pair

A plane crash leaves two political rivals alone in freezing wilderness. The narrator has long seen Harry Matheson as smarmy, arrogant and entitled, and even the wreck has barely disturbed his well-coiffed hair. Their pilot goes off to call for help, and rescue seems only a matter of time.

A few cold hours later, it becomes clear the pilot belongs to an international terrorist group that means to kidnap them. The two have to run through the wilderness together, with armed pursuers close behind.

Neither is equipped for this. Debating and parliamentary procedure do nothing to teach them how to find food, stay warm or avoid the local wildlife. Their only chance of surviving is to stick together, and that means working with the person each of them least wants to rely on.

This is an enemies-to-lovers romance told in the first person by the narrator, with a comic, wry voice running through the danger. The setting is a survival chase, so the pace is quick and the stakes are physical. The attraction between the two grows as the hostility fades, and the narrator is the last person who wants to fall for an enemy.