N. Hexam (she never reveals her first name) is the principal character and first-person narrator of the novel, which takes place over a period of eight days, Wednesday, January 1, to Wednesday, January 8. During this period, N. also looks back over her life with Gavin, her former husband; her affair with Andrew Mason; Osella's entrance into their lives; Evalin's marriage to Clyde Wilson, her estranged husband; and other significant events of the past. She does this as part of her attempt to sort out what is happening to her now. Her feeling that someone is trying to kill her or Evalin or all of them increases as the threats increase, including the harassing phone calls from Osella and the "phantom caller," who is never identified. In fact, Evalin does die, ostensibly the result of chronic pancreatitis aggravated by New Year's Eve celebrating, but possibly accelerated by the beating she...