At thirty Cass ends a decade of travel edged with terrorism and aimless sex that is becoming mechanical and even virtual. Then she finds Martin Willey, also stuck in place and disappointed in his own passionate life. Together they regain a sense of sensual purity and innocence in their swinging Westchester suburb. But their marriage too finally leads to sexual disappointment.Now alone, Cass is washed-up in a Manhattan apartment. Then she finds a man with a weird lifestyle and a crazy mission involving poetry, who asks her to share it with him. She veers between her life as a travel writer and her shared Manhattan mission with its journey into an unusual bond. This strange alliance asks her to leave much of modern life behind. Finally, is a lonely winter on a remote island enough? "A stunning narrator and compelling wordsmith, Elizabeth Von Vogt is one of the best independent writers around." Indylit "An Awful Intimacy was chosen for its strength of prose and haunting beauty." Norumbega Fiction Awards