Rich and successful, robert edelman parker and his wife linda ladd would seem to have the perfect marriage. But this 'idyll' masks a terrible reality. With a brutality bordering on the sadistic, robert has mercilessly beaten his wife throughout their married life. Finally, with the support of her mother virginia lange and father john, linda finds the strength to file for divorce. Only now does the true horror or robert's character surface. He subjects linda to frustrating and humiliating divorce tactics, using their two young children as pawns. Linda's lawyer fights back and robert, maddened that he has been challenged, puts out a contract on linda's life. Little does he know, however, that the proposed hitman, zack coates, is working undercover for fbi agent masterson bailey. All they now need is a trail of evidence leading directly to robert, but to obtain it linda must fake her own death and put her life and the lives of her beloved parents and children on the line.