Our Last Resort

In a flashback, Frida recounts their past in New York. Annie and Gabriel get married and move into a suburban home that they can barely afford. Her parents help, but they argue about money. Annie works at her affluent father’s company, and Gabriel works as a research assistant to Howard, a scholar on Roman history.

They also begin to have other fights. After getting married, Annie becomes judgmental about people who are not married. Frida, in particular, feels singled out by Annie’s scorn for women who don’t commit to long-term relationships. This is exactly what Frida does, but for her it is part of a healing process: She is exploring dating, boundaries, and healthy relationships. Annie also begins texting Frida when she is upset with Gabriel. She often finds his behavior childish and impulsive. Again, Frida wishes that Annie would understand who she is dealing with. Both Frida and Gabriel are traumatized from their childhood in the cult and are working through serious issues. Annie, it seems, has no sympathy for either of them.

In the present timeline, Frida has a series of revelations: William knew that Sabrina cheated on him with Gabriel. He would have guessed that the seemingly anonymous key card in her bag came from Gabriel because it did not open their own room door. William then used the key card to plant the murder weapon in Gabriel’s backpack. He also must have planted Sabrina’s phone for Frida to find. He knew that it would lead the investigation toward Gabriel. He also knew that, because of Gabriel’s history, the police would seize upon him as a suspect.

After the police escort Gabriel away, Frida knows that it is up to her to save him. Although she does not like to think about it anymore, she is well acquainted with scheming. She admits that she is even acquainted with murder, and the novel later reveals that she killed Annie.

In the past timeline, Annie has grown increasingly unhappy with Gabriel. She is tired of him coming home late and drunk, and she is also tired of his entire personality. Her unhappiness has made her even more judgmental, and Frida now actively dislikes spending time with her.

One morning, Annie calls her in a panic and insists that she come over. When Frida arrives, Annie tells Frida that in his inebriated state, Gabriel confessed to killing someone named Edwina. The name was so unusual that she looked it up and found a news story about Edwina’s death in the fire at the cult. Annie explains that this is the final straw and she intends to go to the police. She says she will go to the police the next morning, after she has gone for a run. That way, she will appear more clear-headed to the detective.

Frida knows that if Gabriel is apprehended for Edwina’s murder, she will be, too. She must protect her brother, but she must also protect herself. She waits for Annie the next morning by the waterfall that Annie always stops by when she is running. When Annie pauses, Frida pushes her over the edge.

Frida recalls her guilt in the wake of Annie’s murder. The experience increased her anxiety a hundredfold. She became obsessed with an HBO show about mobsters because they committed brutal murders and then went home to their families and lived normal lives. She, too, wanted to live a normal life.

Now, she turns her attention to William. When she killed Annie, she used a rental car to drive to the falls. She threw her clothing away. If William held onto the murder weapon, he must have a hiding spot. She is sure that he killed Sabrina in a fit of passion. Because he is a volatile, angry man, she is also sure that he ended up with blood on his clothes: He would never have been able to pull off a neat, orderly crime, especially in a heightened state of emotion. She knows he has a rental car. She locates the garage on the hotel property and vows to search it.

Frida must steal a key card from one of the hotel employees in order to gain access to the garage, but she soon finds William’s rental car. She breaks the window with a fire extinguisher and finds a shirt covered in blood. Just as she grabs it, Detective Harris screams for her to put her hands up. She complies, and she has the bloody shirt in one hand.

William is arrested, and Gabriel returns to the hotel. Frida decides to tell him that she killed Annie, and he is very upset. He feels responsible for Sabrina’s murder, even though he didn’t kill her himself. He is also angry about Annie. He feels that Frida didn’t have the right to take away his wife, even if she was going to turn him in.

Gabriel returns to Seattle, and Frida returns to New York. One day, Frida gets an email from Gabriel. He suggests they visit the cult’s abandoned compound. He flies to New York, and they make their way out there together. Gabriel begins sobbing. He confesses to Frida that if Annie had come to him with the information that she was about to turn him in to the police, he would have killed her, too. Gabriel and Frida realize that they are both similar.

Gabriel moves back to New York. He and Frida see each other regularly. They agree to do the documentary interview together. Frida knows that no matter they say, they will remain what they have always been: family.