Vic and Melinda Van Allen's loveless marriage is held together only by a
precarious arrangement whereby, in order to avoid the messiness of
divorce, Melinda is allowed to take any number of lovers as long as she
does not desert her family. Eventually, Vic can no longer suppress his
jealousy and tries to win back his wife by asserting himself through a
tall tale of murder--one that soon comes true. In this complex portrayal
of a dangerous psychosis emerging in the most unlikely of places,
Highsmith examines the chilling reality behind the idyllic facade of
American suburban life.