Izzy Blake hasn’t seen sunlight in almost a year.

Or at least that’s how long she thinks she’s been down here. She only eats when she’s been good. She only gets to wash when he says so. Every day is the same. The darkness. The waiting. The fear when she hears the key turn in the lock and she knows he’s back.

Until . . .

One day the door opens and there’s someone else coming down the steps. It’s a woman she’s never seen before. Is she finally free? But then Izzy sees the fear in this woman’s eyes – and the bruises on her arm – and she instantly realises two things:

Number one: If this is his wife, she knows exactly what he’s capable of.
Number two: If he catches her down here, they’re both dead.

But that’s when they hear the noise from upstairs. He’s home. You don’t have to be chained up to be trapped – being the girl in the cellar is bad, but it’s not easy being the girl upstairs . . .