Joanne Mayfield, head of the parental school commission, behaves like a dictator and makes all the other women her enemies. But when she suddenly falls dead on a party after having a sandwich, the main suspect is Susan, who served her the food. The handsome detective Joe Russo interrogates her repeatedly and they become friends. He invites her to help him with the investigation, what she happily accepts - too happily, says her husband.

If you were a famous English novelist doing a whistle stop tour of the United States to promote your books, wouldn't you welcome with open arms the chance of a quiet weekend away from it all in a remote corner of Long Island? Of course you would. Well, let what happened to Evan Lorrimer be an awful warning....

Five carnival workers are kidnapped and held hostage in an abandoned, Hell-like compound where they are forced to participate in a violent game, the goal of which is to survive twelve hours against a gang of sadistic clowns.