Eric Moore is an all around successful guy. His photofinishing business in his quiet town is good; his marriage to his wife Meredith is solid, and the only thing he has some disappointment about is his teenage son Keith, who doesn't seem to be driven by much ambition or discipline. But, home is comfortable and as stable as Eric likes it. He's thankful, counts his blessings. His inner thoughts, which comprise this book, are in a positive glow. But, they're just getting started...

One night, Keith is called by the Giordano's, the Moore's next-door neighbors, to baby sit their 8-year old daughter Amy, as he has done before. But, this time it's going to turn out differently. The first sign to Eric of something abnormal is Keith's late return that night. First, a flash of headlights, then Keith trudging up the driveway, then Keith entering the house... then the news in the morning that Amy is missing.

That Keith could have anything to do with it is an absurd idea to Eric, despite the weirdness of the headlights and Keith's denials, when questioned, that he was driven home. He's also prepared for the cops when they come to visit with their "routine" questions. As time passes with no clue as to Amy's whereabouts, no dead bodies, no signs of an abduction, and Keith's continuing claims of innocence, Eric counsels his son protectively and, against Meredith's forebodings, retains his lawyer to represent Keith's interests, if not his defense.

Which is fine as far as coping with the law is concerned, but Vince Giordano, Amy's father, is losing it. He begins to throw his weight, and then his threats, around. He becomes a loose cannon you'd just as soon not live next door to.

In the continuing atmosphere of silence and the almost non-existent evidence of a crime, Eric's mind keeps working, examining and re-examining details, prior assumptions, options--ultimately turning trust into suspicion--until fears become reality and anxiety dominates his psyche, threatening just about everything in his life. Respect for his son and confidence in Keith's innocence, his marriage and family future... all are on the line and at risk.

The process, while fascinating psychologically, is also a test of a reader's ability to hang in with a mystery whose action is relentlessly mental. The development of events evolves at a glacial pace, providing plenty of room for a meandering mind to wander and formulate demons. We begin to wonder if our bond to the central character, through whom we live this mystery, isn't beginning to fray. What compels our attention, though, is our need for a resolution. When it comes, it's a payoff that is by turns surprising, and not surprising.