In the style of 'Mindhunter' and 'Journey into Darkness' Douglas and Olshaker investigate the dangers of anti-social personality in a first-person narrative packed with actual cases investigated by Douglas. The book focuses on crimes against women, and is broken into four sections.
Douglas first looks at rape and sexual assault and the very different perpetrators of such crimes. 'Obsession' aims to educate potential victims through diverse examples, ranging from Robert Chambers "Preppie Murder" case; Ronnie Shelton, Cleveland's sadistic serial rapist and the Kim Eames case in Cole County Mississippi.
The second section discusses stalking. As a celebrity stalking example, Douglas discusses the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Other examples include stalking from soured relationships and stalking innocent strangers.
The third section covers wife abuse, in particular a case wherein the wife killed her husband at a time he wasn't abusing her.
Finally, Douglas takes on crimes of opportunity, for example Gary Heidnick, who was the model for Buffalo Bill in "Silence of the Lambs," and who kept women in a pit in the basement of his Philadelphia house.
Through it all, Douglas empathizes with the human pain and price paid for these horrible crimes and offers sage advice for women everywhere.
