Brief

When a married man suffers a sudden fatal accident, two women are shattered — his wife andhis mistress — and past secrets, desires, and regrets are brought to light while the two women deal with the end of their relationship, and with each other.

What We Liked

- Female led - ability to engage great actresses;
- The drama is nuanced and relatable;
- Compelling, thought provoking story about the complexities of relationships and marriage
from a female standpoint;
- There is no judgment in its storytelling, simply a chance to explore how people interact and
ultimately cope with sudden death;
- Can easily be expanded into limited-run series;
- Character-oriented; contained universe.

Synopsis

On a seemingly normal Friday afternoon, Jeff Manning, a kind-hearted man who runs the accounting
department at a mid-size company, is distraught at having to fire Art Davies, the man who brought him
into the fold. After the difficult conversation, Jeff decides to walk home in an effort to clear his head.
While on the walk, Jeff is struck and killed by a car.
Jeff's wife, Claire, is ultimately a mess at the death of her husband. Left to raise her son Seth alone,
she deals with the day in and day out of the month after the loss. We learn more of her and Jeff's
history through flashbacks, while we are simultaneously introduced to Jeff's co-worker, Tish. Tish and
Jeff met while on a work retreat and had a shared love of the golf course. The two flirted and became
more familiar at work, until one day the two found themselves on another retreat - this time, without
their spouses. Claire becomes suspicious of Tish when the two meet at the funeral. Ultimately, Tish
convinces Claire that there was no affair, just two work colleagues.
A knock on the door after the funeral changes everything. A police officer drops off Jeff's belongings,
including a cell phone. Claire plugs in the phone to see if she can put together any missing pieces left
behind. As she searches through it, she finds a few texts. Claire races to Tish's home and confronts
her. She denies everything, but Claire is not convinced. Shortly thereafter, Tish pounds on Claire's door.
She expresses how she understands Claire's questioning and again reassures her nothing happened,
even reading out loud those texts in question.
Claire goes home and realizes that while she may never know the truth, and it's better to let these
things go. Claire begins to live her new life without Jeff but holding on fondly to the love that she and
Jeff shared.
It is only in the epilogue that we learn there was indeed an affair. This is never confirmed throughout
the story. The author does an incredible job of peeling back the emotional layers without casting
judgments on any of the characters. It's a mystery, but without a crime - simply a study of the human
psyche."

About The Author

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill in History and Law,Catherine practices law in her hometown. She's the author of Hidden - a #1 Amazon bestseller and aDigital Bookworld bestseller for five weeks - and Spun, Forgotten, and Arranged for HarperCollins.