Intensity: A Novel

Chyna Shepard, twenty-six, cannot sleep during her first night at her best friend's family home in Napa Valley. Her instinct proves correct when Edgler Foreman Vess, a murderous sociopath, enters the house with intent to kill everyone inside. Vess, who calls himself a "homicidal adventurer," lives to satisfy his appetites without fear, remorse, or limits. Chyna, a survivor hardened by lifelong struggles for safety and self-respect, becomes trapped in Vess's deadly orbit. Initially focused only on escaping alive, she discovers by chance the identity of Vess's next intended victim—an innocent person she alone can save. Driven by a newly discovered need for meaning beyond survival, Chyna draws on her inner resources to protect an endangered girl while the threat from Edgler Foreman Vess intensifies moment by moment.