Was she helping a woman in danger . . . or walking into a dangerous trap? Early in her marriage Grace Loring became the victim of her husband s sudden， unpredictable rages. Taking her infant daughter and a few belongings， Grace fled to the safety of her brother Gus s home in Vermont. Now， years later， Grace is a successful author. Accustomed to abused women writing to ask for advice， Grace is sympathetic when she is contacted by a troubled young woman named Stephanie Baine. In the course of their e-mail correspondence， Stephanie reveals details of a nightmarish life -- her terrifying abduction as a teenager， the psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her husband. Grace s advice is clear: Stephanie must do whatever is necessary to escape this madman. After several weeks of an intensive exchange， the e-mails abruptly stop， and Grace begins to fear the worst for Stephanie. Then the e-mails resume， and what Grace learns casts doubt on everything she believed. Who is Stephanie Baine? Has anything she s told Grace been the truth? Is she really a young woman in danger， or is something else -- something sinister， even deadly -- going on?