SYNOPSIS
Logline
A cunning man conceals a love affair so brilliantly that it exposes the lovers to being terminally vulnerable.
Act 1
Justin Bennet, a family man, is a genius at systems and strategy but a little lacking in the empathy department. Ava, his lover, is bored and goes along for the ride when he presents a meticulous set of rules for their affair. Including a clever communications channel through a chat box on blanked out video calls. Helen is Justin’s devoted wife and all round lovely person. She comes from money and is a successful prison psychiatrist.
Act 2
The affair breezes on without a hitch. We meet Ava’s husband, Harry (H for short) who seems a bit dim but we are suspicious of him.
Now we get a glimpse of Justin’s other secret life. He is embezzling money from his employer but relies on the assistance of a real-life gangster, Lars, to retrieve the money from a US bank account. Lars also agrees to owe Justin a favour by way of a future ‘elimination’ of Justin’s choosing. At a family dinner we meet Helen’s wealthy and powerful Father, Hugh, who isn’t overly fond of Justin.Small unexplained things now start happening around the affair culminating in Ava receiving flowers, purportedly from Justin. But he would never do anything so reckless. Now he’s panicking and asks Ava to meet him late at night in a park. He stumbles across a serious sexual assault but does nothing to help. He messages Ava and tells her not to come. Ava replies: “H knows everything!”. “How can you be sure?” “Because I’m dead”.
Act 3
Ava is indeed dead. Apparently from natural causes. Justin is more than alarmed and goes to a quite secluded spot and gets in touch via Ava’s profile with Harry. “Jesus Harry, did you have to kill her?” But the H in question isn’t Harry or Hugh. It’s Helen! Helen has tapped into the vast array of criminal resources that she knows through her work. She thanks Justin for hiding his life so well that no trace or motive will be left behind for what’s coming next: His elimination.