Can a good man go too far to protect his family? That is the question underlying this gripping tale of a family fighting for its life, which pulls the reader into its stranglehold of terror in the tradition of Straw Dogs and Cape Fear. Having survived a childhood of physical beatings and psychological torture, successful Manhattan lawyer Jacob Schiff cherishes his stable family life with his wife, Dana, a psychiatric social worker, and their teenage son, Alex. But Jake sees it all unraveling when John Gates, a homeless man who has become Dana's patient, starts stalking her and menacing the family. As Gates's behavior becomes even more bizarre and violent, and no one seems able to stop him, Jake is driven to the breaking point by fear and desperation and takes a fatal step that could destroy everything he cares about.