THE STORY: Thomas Devereaux, a successful architect and local contractor, and his beautiful wife, Joan, have just moved into their dream house in the quiet suburban town of Green Meadows when they are visited by their new neighbors, Carolyn and Jeff Symons, and a friendship develops quickly between the two couples. But underneath the cool, middle-American exterior, something is truly rotten. A previous sexual relationship between Joan and a teenage lawn-boy is revealed, as is the fact that Thomas learned of the infidelity and may have murdered his wife’s lover. To make matters worse, an affair has begun to develop between Joan and Jeff Symons. One summer evening, following the Symons departure after a friendly game of cards, Thomas lets Joan know that he is aware of this new deception, and his violent, possessive nature surfaces. He makes two demands of his wife: One, she must stop seeing Jeff. Two, she must kill him. What follows is a diabolical plot that continues to thicken through the final showdown between a murderer and an aggrieved widow.
Receiving six Emmy Award nominations when presented on TV with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.
“A thoroughly satisfying thriller on all points. Four stars.” —WMAQ-TV.
“It spins a web of deception, sex, murder and mind games as two suburban couples discover their darker sides.” —Chicago Tribune.
“An archly manipulative psycho-thriller…a well-made murder mystery…it holds your attention like a leash.” —Windy City Times.
“A screaming hit…a tautly constructed plot…the people are the action.” —Portsmouth News.
“This tale of lust and death in the 'ideal’ home is certain to become a classic.” —Southampton Daily Echo.
