"Laurel Shields awakens to find that her husband, Warren, is not in bed with her. Creeping out to the kitchen of their palatial home, she sees him through the doorway of his study, wildly pulling books from the shelves. Two weeks earlier, Warren and his partner were informed by the IRS that their medical practice was being audited; since then the stress on Dr. Shields has steadily ratcheted up. But Laurel has problems on her own. Quickly, she locks herself in the master bath, opens a home pregnancy kit, and fearfully tests herself. PREGNANT, announces the digital readout. Laurel closes her eyes as though absorbing news of a death, then quickly hides the evidence. She is not sure who the father is. Later that morning, Laurel returns home and is surprised to find her husband's car still parked in the driveway. In the den, she finds Warren sitting on the sofa in the same clothes he wore the previous day. His face is pale and unshaven, his eyes hollow with fear. Then, in come the children, innocent of it all... So begins the most terrifying day in the history of a marriage, one that in less than five hours will make the Shields house the vortex of a nerve-wracking siege. Before it is through, this terrifying drama will drive Dr. Shields, his wife, and her lover to the very brink of sanity and survival." From the publisher