HIGH NOON. (Nora Roberts)

Police Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara found her calling at an early age, when a violently unstable man broke into her family’s home, trapping and terrorizing them for hours. Now she’s Savannah’s top hostage negotiator, who puts her life on the line every day to defuse powder-keg situations. Phoebe knows when to reach out and when to pull back - and when to jump in and take action, even if it means risking everything. It’s satisfying work - and sometimes those skills come in handy at home when Phoebe deals with her agoraphobic mother, still traumatized by the break-in after all these years, and her precocious seven-year-old daughter, Carly. It’s exactly that heady combination of steely courage and sensitivity that first attracts Duncan Swift to Phoebe. After watching her talk one of his employees off a roof ledge, he is committed to keeping this intriguing, take-charge woman in his life. Phoebe’s used to working solo, but she’s finding that no amount of negotiation can keep Duncan at arm’s length. When she’s grabbed by a man who throws a hood over her head and brutally assaults her - in her own precinct house - Phoebe can’t help being deeply shaken. And when threatening messages appear on her doorstep, she’s not just alarmed but frustrated. How do you go face-to-face with an opponent who refuses to look you in the eye Now, with Duncan backing her up every step of the way, she must establish contact with the faceless tormentor who is determined to make her a hostage to fear - before she becomes the final showdown.