First published 1990
Mary Terror once fought the establishment in the 1960s, but now she drifts through the Reagan era with a fractured mind and an arsenal of weapons. When she spots a mother leaving the hospital with a newborn, Mary sees her chance to reclaim the revolutionary life she lost. She takes the baby and runs, convinced this child will restore meaning to her existence. Laura Clayborne refuses to accept the loss of her infant son. She teams up with a professional tracker and pursues Mary across the country, determined to bring her baby home. The chase becomes a deadly game of cat and mouse as Mary's delusions deepen and her desperation grows. Two mothers clash over one child, each driven by fierce maternal instinct but heading toward opposite ends of sanity.
Genres: suspense, crime, thriller, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, maternal-instinct
Setting: United States
Period: 1980s
442 pages · Hardcover · Pocket Books
Content warnings: mental-illness, violence