In this taut and thrilling debut an unraveling woman unhappily childless and recently separated becomes fixated on her neighbor--the beautiful famous actress. The unnamed narrator can't help noticing with wry irony that though she and the actress live just a few doors apart they are separated by a chasm of professional success and personal fulfillment. When an interaction with the actress at the annual block party takes a disastrous turn what began as an innocent preoccupation spirals quickly and lethally into a frightening and irretrievable madness.