Before Catherine Bailey leaves her flat every morning to go to work, she leaves her curtains open to exactly the right width, and she makes sure all her doors are securely locked by turning her doorknobs six times. If it does not feel right, she will repeat the process all over again, even if it means being late for work by three hours. On odd-numbered days, she can go exercise, but cannot cook food. She can only do her groceries on even-numbered days. It's a daily physical and psychological struggle, her feeling that every move is being watched, her terror that her past has finally caught up with her and waiting for her at her flat every time she comes home.

She has not always been like this, though. Who would have thought that good-looking and mysterious Lee Brightman would turn out to be such a psycho? Had she known that he was capable of doing those terrible things to her, she would never have worn that sexy red dress, never would have gone to that bar, never would have gone back to her apartment with him, never would have let him take over her life...

This is a truly engrossing but very disturbing book. There were a few chapters that were a bit tough to read, but I couldn't put it down, and I was on edge the whole time I was reading it. One can really feel the terror and the struggle of our heroine Catherine as she picks up the pieces of her life and rejoins the real world. Oh, what a great read.