Thank you, everyone, for your kind comments

If you get stuck with your plot, just think - what is the worst possible thing that can happen to your protagonist?

And there you have it. Therein lies the drama - the stakes. Those stakes need to be internal (emotional) as well as external (world-changing) and they need to be as high as possible for the character because therein lies the secret of the hook--the thing which will keep your readers turning the pages until the end of the story.

Just sayin.