This thriller by Koontz was a bit more satisfying than the others I've read so far. Small town bartender Billy Wiles has his life turned upside-down when he finds a typewritten note under his windshield offering him a choice: "If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher somewhere in Napa County. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work."

I find that Koontz has a tendency to throw plot elements in at the last minute for the author's convenience, something I find quite annoying indeed and far beneath this otherwise excellent writer. He does that much less in this novel, and I was pleased. Compared to the other Koontz thrillers, this one had richer language and offered more to reflect on. Quotes from T.S. Eliot appear in italics in eight of the chapters, offering words of wisdom and solace.