Mark showcases a troubled woman who can’t allow herself to trust.
Elizabeth Zahavi was physically, mentally, and sexually abused as a child, and she's recently been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. She lives with Jay, who’s often annoyed by her. On her way to a psychiatric session, she gets lost, panics, and is run off the road by Campion Lorton-Cave, an entitled drunk who takes off, leaving her to be rescued by Jude Cullen and his border collie, Marshall. It’s a fateful meeting for Elizabeth—who's always been known as Liz or Lizzie but who now thinks of herself as Betsy. When Jay leaves his laptop at home one day, Elizabeth can't help looking through it, and she's astonished by what she finds. Jay attacks her when he gets home, even choking her, and she moves in with Jude, who lives in an ancient, decrepit, but magical house on a big tract of land he inherited from his late wife, Maeve, an animal activist, whom some people think he murdered. Slowly settling in, Elizabeth learns to appreciate the beauties of the countryside under the guidance of Jude, who juggles a number of jobs to support himself, steadfastly refusing the hefty sum Campion and his wife offer him for his land in order to expand their repugnant pay-to-hunt business. Life darkens as Campion, who’s hired heavies to scare Jude, approves physical attacks and cruel tricks involving the deaths of innocent animals. But Jude’s a tough fighter whose dark rages are intimidating. Elizabeth finds herself deeply in love with a dangerous man who understands her demons but may be a killer himself. Given Jude’s distressing past, who presents the greatest present danger to her?
A chilling entry from a master of the dark psychological thriller—one that's uncharacteristically tempered by hope.