When fifty-five-year-old poetry professor Kenneth Gibson marries thirty-two-year-old Rosemary to save her from destitution after her father's death, he believes he's doing a good deed. But after Rosemary recovers her health and Gibson's manipulative sister Ethel moves in, misunderstandings and insecurities lead Gibson to decide that suicide is his only option. After stealing poison from his neighbor's laboratory, Gibson loses the bottle on a public bus, setting off a frantic race to recover it before someone dies. With help from an unlikely group including a philosophical bus driver, a wealthy matron, and an eccentric painter, Gibson and Rosemary discover important truths about themselves, their relationship, and the nature of doom and free will. “A real spellbinder.” --Clark Kinnaird, Parade of Books “A brilliant psychological terror story . . . honed to razor edge.” --Oakland Tribune “. . . a thriller of first rank . . . not without psychological validity . . . a vivid portrayal of possibilities.” --Psychiatric Quarterly “. . . gathers speed and tension as it grows . . . mounting desperation . . . developed with humor, pathos and excitement.” --Pittsburgh Press