How far will a mother go to protect her family from a madman?

An unrivaled master of psychological suspense, Joy Fielding has written her most chilling and intricate novel yet--a compulsively readable look at the razor-thin line between daily domesticity and nerve-shattering terror.

It had to end in blood.  Family therapist Kate Sinclair, healer of lost souls, perfect wife and mother, has suddenly become trapped in a nightmare of her own.  Her teenage daughter has just discovered sex, lies, and rebellion.  Her ex-boyfriend has returned to threaten her marriage.  Her once-peaceful hometown is being awakened by chilling headlines: Another woman is missing.  Kate can sense the darkness gathering around her, can see the mistakes, the missteps, the missing pieces.  She is afraid of what tomorrow will bring.

Enter Colin Friendly, a man on trial for abducting and killing thirteen women--the handsome, ''misunderstood'' sociopath Kate's troubled sister plans to marry.  Colin loves women to death.  He can't wait to see Kate and the girls again.  One dark night when they are home alone, disarmed, ready for bed...