At 2am on the morning of her 40th birthday, Sophie wakes in the darkness of her bedroom - and finds a stranger watching her from the foot of her bed. The intruder hands her a letter and issues an ultimatum: the message is to be opened before her forthcoming party, in front of gathered family and friends, at exactly 8pm. Any failure to comply will not end well. Sophie can only think of one person who hates her enough to have hired a professional to menace her like this: her fiance's ex-wife. But what can the letter possibly contain? And why must it be read in front of everyone she loves best?"