A psychological thriller about the most dangerous kind of predator, the one who looks like a good manIn the neon-lit underbelly of San Diego's dating scene, Nora Phillips, a divorced professor in her fifties, meets Ben Weber on a "married connections" app. He's a retired Navy Captain: articulate, devoted, seemingly trapped in a loveless marriage. For three years, he promises to leave his wife. For three years, Nora waits. But Ben's moral vocabulary hides a ruthless calculus. His devotion is performance. His promises are weapons. When he discards Nora on Christmas Eve with clinical efficiency, she nearly dies, not from a broken heart, but from the systematic psychological abuse she didn't know she was surviving. Chantilly Lace is a psychological thriller about the kind of predator who uses faith and duty to justify cruelty, and the woman who survives him. With the atmospheric tension of The Girl on the Train and the emotional depth of Big Little Lies, this is an unflinching look at narcissistic abuse, the long road to recovery, and the radical act of choosing yourself.