Is it the abusive partner of one of her clients?
Or her own abusive first husband?
Or a complete stranger?
Life has presented Maddy a series of challenges: running a counseling center for victims of domestic abuse, working her way to healing after the death of her husband, and learning to let go of her college age daughter. Now she juggles the search for her stalker with the constant daily crises at work and home.The stalker may come after her, her daughter or her co-workers.
Dealing with a stalker is the last thing she wants, but she has no choice.
Ironically, Maddy finds herself reacting as many of her clients do – minimizing the danger and denying the fearful reality that has intruded into her life. She’s often advised her clients on how to handle stalkers, but having knowledge and applying it are two different things.
Maddy’s resistance to the seriousness of a stalker is high and like many of her clients she delays taking the necessary measures. Did she wait too long?
Her co-worker, Darcy Palmer, a sometimes over-involved advocate for her clients, nags Maddy to call the police. But Maddy resists. She is reluctant to let anything disturb the cushion of routine she has built around her grief. It is easier to focus on her job and her grief than her own safety. But, eventually the stalker’s threats grow more serious and she is forced to take steps to protect herself and her daughter. Desperate danger calls for desperate measures.
Throughout it all, Maddy’s clients continue to need her help. Women, men, rich, poor, old, young, career oriented, family oriented, single, married – you name it and they are represented in her files. All of them have one thing in common – they are abused.
