Big Little Truths

The narrative shifts back eight months to the morning of Madeline Mackenzie’s 50th birthday. She wakes up with a case of “frozen shoulder,” one of several new physical ailments that make her feel her age. She reflects on her marriage to her husband, Ed and the challenges of parenting her volatile teenage daughter, Chloe. Madeline also has an ex-husband, Nathan (who is now married to Bonnie) and two older children, Abigail and Fred, who live independently. She is part of a close-knit circle of female friends, including Renata, Celeste, Bonnie and Jane. Abruptly, Madeline becomes alarmed when she finds a lump in her breast.

Meanwhile, Jane Chapman is at the beach with her son, Ziggy. She mentions the plan to attend Madeline’s birthday party to Ziggy; he seems irritated until he learns that Amabella (Renata’s daughter) will be there. After Ziggy jogs away, Jane is left alone on the beach, reflecting on her son’s crush and the anxieties of parenting.

The narrative returns to the counselling session with the teens. The teens explain that, while their families were interconnected and their parents were close friends, they moved in different social circles and did not regularly interact until after the events of Madeline’s birthday party. They explain that the birthday party took place right before the start of the new school year, and that everyone was curious about what the impact of the new principal (Dr. Ferdinand Seawright) would be. A new teacher, Melody Montclair, was also starting at the high school.

Celeste White enjoys a quiet afternoon at home with her twin teenage sons, Max and Josh. Max and Josh are Ziggy’s half-brothers; all three boys have the same father, Perry (who died ten years earlier). Perry’s mother, Mary-Louise White, arrives for an unexpected visit. Celeste notices that Mary-Louise seems disoriented and not like her usual meticulous and composed self. As the talk turns to memories of Perry, Celeste reflects on her ambivalence. After Perry’s death, she was honest with her sons that their father had been abusive and that she was preparing to leave him when he died. However, she also wants them to have positive memories of their late father. 

To Celeste’s surprise, Mary-Louise expresses interest in joining them and going to Madeline’s party. Concerned about the older woman, Celeste agrees. In the counselling narrative, the teenagers recall that it was strange that Mary-Louise wanted to attend.

As Madeline gets ready for her party, she tries to suppress worry about the lump. She tells Celeste that Mary-Louise is welcome to attend. Madeline reflects on her plan to have her friends’ children reconnect at the party: she senses that the six teens are in different social circles and not close. Secretly, Madeline is suspicious of Chloe’s friends and hopes to encourage her daughter to broaden her social circle. In the other narrative, the teens reflect on their memories of the party, and their impressions of Madeline’s outfit.

As Jane prepares for the party, she finds an empty alcohol bottle in Ziggy’s bedroom. Unsure what to do, she decides to address it later. Shortly after, she finds her husband, Tom, watching YouTube videos of toddlers greeting their fathers. Jane is upset because she knows Tom wants to have children with her (the two of them met while she was raising Ziggy alone) and she keeps postponing discussing the topic seriously. Secretly, Jane has no desire to have more children. 

In the counselling session narrative, the teens dryly discuss their parents’ reactions to alcohol and drugs. Brenda, the counsellor in charge of the session, tries to refocus them on the topic of the interview (which has still not been specified to the reader).

In the present-day timeline, Detective Chief Inspector Adrian Quinlan receives the call about a severed finger delivered to Pirriwee High School. Though he suspects it’s a prank, he decides to investigate personally because sending body parts is a hallmark of organized crime. A recent gang-related shooting in the Pirriwee area has garnered public outcry, since the community is wealthy and typically very safe. At the school, Quinlan is startled to realize that the finger is a real human digit.

In the “past” storyline, the party is underway. Celeste and Jane watch their teenage children socializing together, concluding that Madeline’s plan to reignite the bond between them is working. Celeste also notices that there is tension between Tom and Jane and encourages the latter to agree to have a baby. 

The party is interrupted when Abigail’s boyfriend, Luka, proposes. Since he previously asked Nathan (Bonnie’s husband and Abigail’s father) for permission, Celeste objects that Bonnie must have known the proposal was forthcoming and still let Madeline’s party be interrupted. She notices that Bonnie does not seem happy about Abigail getting engaged. Moments after the proposal, Bonnie becomes alarmed when she sees Mary-Louise approaching. Mary-Louise coldly asks, “Murdered anyone lately, Bonnie?” (73), alluding to Perry’s death. 

In the counselling session narrative, Skye states that the night of the birthday party was the first time she learned that her mother, Bonnie, was responsible for the death of Perry (the father of Ziggy and the twins). She and the other teens knew that Perry had died after falling from a balcony at a school event when they were kindergartners, but they did not know that Bonnie pushed them. The teens reminisce about how “we found out things that night too” (74) and “it drove a wedge between us and our parents. We thought, If you don’t tell us important stuff, we won’t tell you stuff” (74). They note that on the night of the party, they observed a strange man watching them intently while they gathered outside of the party venue.

The proposal provokes mixed feelings for Madeline, although she feigns happiness to support Abigail. Privately, she remains suspicious of Abigail’s now-fiancé, noting that “this was how it went with these seemingly perfect men, and Madeline might have missed it with her best friend, but she was going to be on it with her own daughter” (77). Madeline is alarmed as she realizes that her elderly mother is not at the party and has not contacted her all day. 

In the counselling session storyline, Chloe reveals that her grandmother had broken her hip earlier in the day and had been laying helpless. After Madeline noticed that her mother was absent from the party, they found her and rushed the elderly woman to the hospital.

The party abruptly ends when Madeline and Ed rush off to help her mother. Celeste drives Mary-Louise and the twins home. Mary-Louise asks questions about Skye (Bonnie’s daughter) and Celeste is wary; she feels protective of Bonnie after Mary-Louise’s abrupt reference to murder. The twins mention that Skye only learned about Bonnie’s role in Perry’s death at the party, which startles Celeste. The boys also mention that they too learned new information about their father, but don’t give specifics. The boys refer to the man who was watching them as a “pervert” (83) but Celeste misunderstands and thinks they are calling each other names. 

In the counselling session narrative, Amabella reveals that on the night of the party, she disclosed information to the twins about their father. The teens express wariness about what they are sharing with Brenda, implying they are not telling the counsellor the whole story.

Tom, Ziggy, and Jane arrive home after the party. Ziggy’s moody behavior prompts Jane to ask what is wrong and Ziggy angrily confronts Jane. He reveals that Amabella told everyone that Ziggy’s father, Perry, raped Jane. 

Heartbroken for her son, Jane explains the traumatic night of his conception. She clarifies that the encounter began consensually but that Perry choked her without her consent and did not stop when she told him to, which constituted an assault. Ziggy is deeply distressed by the revelation about his biological father. He clings to the distinction that “I’m not . . . you know, the son of an actual rapist?” (90).

Meanwhile at her home, Celeste asks Max and Josh what new information they learned about their father at the party. They are evasive and claim Amabella was trying to provoke them by making untrue statements. Max and Josh don’t reveal what Amabella actually said about Jane’s assault.

In bed, Ed tries to comfort and reassure Madeline. She is consumed with guilt about not finding her mother sooner. Madeline is touched by Ed’s care but remains frightened about the lump in her breast.

In the present-day narrative, Quinlan continues his investigation at the high school. He asks if there is anyone who might hold a grudge against the school. One teacher suggests the incident could be related to a man who was reported for behaving suspiciously around female students at the beginning of the school year. The narrative switches to a transcript from a What’s App group for parents at the school, which was active eight months earlier (at the start of the school year). In the group, several parents report that their daughters encountered a man who seemed to be behaving suspiciously, although the group can’t decide if the man poses a threat and descends into bickering.

Several weeks have passed since Madeline’s birthday party. One morning, Jane attends a local fitness class that she and her friends frequent; it is led by a trainer named Brody. Melody Montclair, who is the new history teacher at the high school, has begun attending the class, and strikes up a conversation with Jane. When Celeste and Madeline join them, the latter explains that she is overwhelmed with her mother’s health and Abigail’s wedding planning. She hints at a medical concern of her own but then hesitates to reveal more. 

The narrative shifts to the discussion among the teens, an email from the principal, and a transcript from the parents What’s App group. All of them discuss how Melody Montclair quickly got everyone’s attention with her provocative and unconventional teaching techniques.

Celeste, Jane, Max, Josh, and Ziggy gather to celebrate Mary-Louise’s birthday. As they wait for Mary-Louise to arrive, Celeste and Jane discuss how Melody helped Madeline. At the workout class, Madeline admitted to her friends that she found a lump but had not yet consulted a doctor. Melody immediately arranged an appointment with a doctor she knew, and Madeline is now awaiting the results from the biopsy. When Mary-Louise arrives, she presents each of her grandsons with an expensive gift: brand-new black Range Rovers.

Madeline talks with her brother, Paul, who lives in London; she does not tell him about the biopsy. They argue about selling their mother’s house and his inability to help her. After the call, Madeline is frustrated and Ed comforts her. He asks if she has gotten the results from the biopsy; she notices that he often seems tired and ill. They lament the physical struggles of turning fifty. As they talk, Madeline’s phone rings. It is the doctor, calling with her biopsy results.

In the counselling session storyline, Chloe explains about the second time that she saw the man who watched the teens at the party. He came into the café where she worked and asked a lot of questions, leaving her suspicious. However, she ultimately decided “he’s just different. Maybe mental health issues?” (122). She also didn’t immediately realize that the man from the café was the same man the teenagers had glimpsed at the party. When the counsellor asks if Chloe told anyone about the encounter at the café, Chloe explains that she came home to find her parents upset and got sidetracked from telling them.