See Me

An unnamed man surveys the University of North Carolina Wilmington campus, fixating on a young woman named Serena Sanchez. He has gathered intelligence through repeated visits and has broken into a vacant house behind the Sanchez home to spy on the family. He reflects bitterly on someone named Cassie, whose life ended because the system failed her. His purpose is vengeance.

Colin Hancock is a 28-year-old college student in Wilmington with a violent past. After an amateur MMA (mixed martial arts) fight, he meets his best friend and landlord, Evan, at a late-night diner. Colin's defining trait is radical honesty: He says exactly what he thinks. The unwanted third child of wealthy parents, Colin was diagnosed with severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sent to military school, where older students brutally hazed him while administrators ignored his pleas. The trauma left him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and an explosive anger disorder that fueled years of bar fights, arrests, and substance use. At twenty-five, his father's connections secured a deal: Five years without an arrest would erase his record, but one arrest would mean nearly a decade in prison. After four months at an anger-management psychiatric facility in Arizona, Colin returned to Wilmington, where Detective Pete Margolis, an antagonistic cop, monitors him regularly. Evan's fiancée Lily helped set Colin on course, suggesting college and twice preventing impulsive mistakes that could have sent him to prison.

Driving home in a rainstorm, Colin stops to change a flat tire for Maria Sanchez, a 28-year-old attorney who graduated summa cum laude from UNC Chapel Hill and attended Duke Law School. She worked as an assistant district attorney in Charlotte before joining a Wilmington firm where her managing partner, Ken Martenson, makes unwanted advances. She is lonely and approaching thirty without the family she imagined.

Maria's younger sister Serena shares a class with Colin and recognizes him from his bruised face. She arranges dinner at Crabby Pete's, Colin's bar, and afterward Maria finds Colin fishing on the pier. Colin shares his violent history with startling directness, and Maria reciprocates with the case that haunts her. As an assistant DA, she prosecuted Gerald Laws, who beat his girlfriend Cassie Manning. Laws pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, served nine months, then stalked and murdered Cassie before killing himself. Cassie's mother later died by suicide, Cassie's father Dr. Avery Manning, a psychiatrist, had his medical license suspended, and Cassie's brother Lester was committed to a psychiatric hospital after sending Maria threatening notes. Those notes triggered panic attacks and drove Maria to resign and move home.

Colin and Maria begin dating. They paddleboard together, and Colin reveals why he wants to teach third grade: His third-grade teacher was the only adult who ever praised him. Lily secretly teaches Colin salsa, and on Saturday night he stuns Maria with perfectly executed steps at a warehouse venue. They spend the night together. The next morning, Colin tells Maria he loves her, and she says the same. At Sunday brunch, Colin tells Maria's father Felix the full truth about his past.

The stalker plotline ignites when anonymous pink roses arrive at Maria's office with an unsigned note: "You will know how it feels." Maria discards them, but they reappear on the passenger seat of her unlocked car. At a nightclub, a waitress delivers a drink from an anonymous man who references the roses, and Colin erupts, aggressively interrogating her. Bouncers drag him outside. Lily resolves the crisis, but Maria, shaken by both the stalker and Colin's loss of control, asks for space. Maria accepts colleague Jill's invitation to join a new law practice.

The family dog dies under suspicious circumstances while the family is away. Dead roses and threatening notes appear at Maria's door, her tires are slashed, and a rambling letter includes the phrase "SEE ME just as I see you!" (297). Maria recognizes language from Lester Manning's earlier notes. Margolis discovers Lester is at Plainview Psychiatric Hospital and was there when Maria's tires were slashed. Dr. Avery Manning cooperates with police and suggests investigating Mark Atkinson, Cassie's boyfriend, who has been reported missing.

On her mother Carmen's birthday, Lester confronts Maria at gunpoint outside the family home. Maria keeps him engaged until approaching sirens send him fleeing; Lester snatches her phone before disappearing. Colin races from his bar shift at dangerous speeds, kicks in the Sanchezes' front door, and is briefly arrested before Margolis intervenes. Afterward, Maria tells Colin she fears not only the stalker but also Colin himself, citing his loss of control at the nightclub.

Colin tracks Maria's phone to a bungalow in Shallotte, a small town southwest of Wilmington, and calls Margolis, who enters the house and is shot twice. Lester emerges with the gun, and Colin tackles him into unconsciousness. Evan, who followed Colin, helps apply pressure to Margolis's wounds until paramedics arrive.

That night, Colin and Maria return to her vandalized condo, where everything has been destroyed and "You will know how it feels" is painted on the bedroom wall. Maria files for a 50C, a civil no-contact order under North Carolina law, which is granted. Her extended family mobilizes, organizing patrol shifts around the family home. Serena wins a scholarship from the Charles Alexander Foundation, and a man posing as its representative visits the family for dinner ahead of Serena's scheduled interview.

In the Sanchez kitchen, Colin notices the foundation's letterhead and recalls that Dr. Manning's deceased son was named Alexander Charles, the inverse of "Charles Alexander." The pieces fall into place: Dr. Manning created the fake foundation to reach Serena. He manipulated his delusional son as a distraction, killed Atkinson, planted evidence on Atkinson's laptop, and shot Margolis himself. The phrase "You will know how it feels" means Maria will lose a beloved sister, just as Manning lost his daughter. Colin confirms with Maria's mother, Carmen, that the foundation representative and Dr. Manning are the same person. He tells everyone to call 911 and races out with Maria.

Maria directs Colin to the commercial waterfront, where they find Serena's car outside a locked building with no listing for the foundation. Colin finds Serena tied to a chair inside an abandoned icehouse, beaten and bloodied, with Manning beside her. Manning strikes Colin with a flashlight, fracturing his skull, and sets the building ablaze. Colin regains consciousness, drags Serena's chair through the burning structure, and escapes. Manning fires a shotgun into Colin's shoulder, then drives toward Serena. Colin staggers into the car's path. Evan crashes his Prius into the Camry, pushing both vehicles into the inferno. Colin sees the Prius door creak open before losing consciousness.

The epilogue takes place the following April at Evan and Lily's wedding in Charleston. Margolis survived and has stopped monitoring Colin, thanking him instead. Lester hanged himself in his cell before he could be interviewed. Forensic evidence confirmed Dr. Manning killed Atkinson and orchestrated the stalking campaign. Evan escaped the crash with burns and a broken leg; Lily was unharmed. Colin required surgery for a skull fracture and hand injuries; his shoulder may never fully recover. Maria works happily at Jill's new firm. Serena has recovered physically, though scars remain. At the reception, Colin asks Maria to meet his parents. She teases him, and he smiles.