Our Last Resort

Our Last Resort (2025) is a novel by French American author Clémence Michallon. It follows her bestselling debut The Quiet Tenant (2023), which was shortlisted for the Hammett Prize and was a New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year. Michallon is known for slow-burn psychological thrillers that showcase strong female characters and explore fraught family dynamics, the dark side of human nature, and survival against difficult odds.

Our Last Resort focuses on Frida and Gabriel, who are survivors of a childhood spent in an oppressive cult and still struggle with memories of their abusive but charismatic leader, Émile. When Gabriel becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation, Frida and Gabriel must fight for their survival once again, reopening old wounds and creating fissures in their close relationship. Against the backdrop of multiple mysteries, the novel examines the lasting impact of childhood trauma, the complex nature of familial bonds, and resilience.

This guide refers to the 2025 hardcover edition by Knopf.

Content Warning: The source text and guide feature depictions of emotional abuse, bullying, illness, rape, physical abuse, mental illness, graphic violence, animal cruelty, and death .

Plot Summary

Frida and Gabriel, who consider each other siblings, are staying at an upscale resort in Escalante, Utah. They both spent their childhoods in the same cult, where they met and formed a close bond. While they eventually drifted apart after leaving the cult, they are spending time together to discuss their participation in an upcoming documentary about their cult.

At the resort, Frida cannot sleep and steps out for some air. She overhears an argument between two other guests: media mogul William Brenner and his much younger wife, Sabrina. William lunges at his wife, grabbing her by her wrists, but he breaks off when he spots Frida. The next morning, Gabriel and Frida discover that Sabrina has been killed. Gabriel stuns Frida and everyone else by bending down over Sabrina’s body and grabbing her lifeless hand, resulting in a conflict between William and Gabriel. Frida worries that Sabrina’s death has triggered difficult memories for her brother: Gabriel’s wife, Annie, died under tragic, mysterious circumstances, and Gabriel was a suspect, though he was never arrested.

Frida recalls that she and Gabriel have both had their share of mental health struggles as a result of having grown up in the cult. Émile, the manipulative leader, controlled every aspect of the cult members’ lives. Frida and Gabriel were routinely abused—not only physically, but also emotionally and verbally. All children in the cult were raised communally, without knowledge of who their biological parents were, so they lacked familial support structures. Frida and Gabriel decided early on to support one another. On Frida’s 18th birthday, Émile raped her while Edwina, another young woman in the cult, held Frida down. Frida discovered that Émile sexually abused all the women in the cult, and she and Gabriel decided to escape. Together, they set fire to Emile’s quarters before they left, but this fire ended up killing Edwina.

As the police mount an investigation into Sabrina’s death, Frida goes forward with the information that she saw William and Sabrina engaged in a violent argument. Not long after, William is arrested. However, Frida is stunned when William soon returns to the hotel. She is sure that he used his power and influence to broker his release. Frida notices him taking a photo of her and Gabriel, and she realizes that William must have recognized Gabriel from the news stories about Annie’s death that were published by William’s tabloids.

The police begin interviewing the hotel’s other guests for leads on the murder. Frida eavesdrops on Gabriel’s interview with the detective and is troubled when he lies about his whereabouts on the night of the murder and about his association with Sabrina, claiming that he never met her. When she later confronts Gabriel about this, he becomes agitated and accuses her of not only thinking him capable of murdering Sabrina, but also of killing Annie. After he storms out of their room, Frida attempts to quiet her mind by tidying their space. As she cleans up, she is shocked to find Sabrina’s hair clip in Gabriel’s backpack.

Later, while out on a hike, Frida discovers Sabrina’s phone. Hoping that the information on it will point the detectives back in the direction of William, she surrenders it to the police. Her tactic does not work, and in a subsequent interview with the detectives, Frida learns that Sabrina’s phone contains Gabriel’s contact information. She begins to panic, especially since the police detective knows of Annie’s mysterious death and seems to suspect Gabriel.

In a flashback chapter, Frida reveals more of their history: After she and Gabriel left the cult, they headed to New York City. They struggled to acclimate to life outside the cult. Frida found solace in her career as a financial analyst, and Gabriel formed a close romantic connection with Frida’s college friend, Annie. They married in a lavish ceremony. However, Gabriel struggled with feelings of guilt about Edwina’s death and sometimes missed the cult’s structure, since he was so accustomed to it. His relationship with Annie quickly deteriorated. One day, after having too many drinks, he admitted to Annie that he had murdered Edwina, and she told Frida that she planned to go to the police with this information. To protect Gabriel, Frida killed Annie.

In the present timeline, the police continue their investigation into Sabrina’s death, with Gabriel as their prime suspect. Gabriel admits to Frida that he had a secret relationship with Sabrina. The two met, felt an instant connection, and had sex once. She gave him her hairclip as a memento and promised to write, saving his information on her phone. As Frida begins to process this information, the police arrest Gabriel, claiming that they found the murder weapon in his backpack. Frida’s panic mounts, and she realizes she must prove that Gabriel is innocent. She suspects William of planting the evidence, and when she searches William’s car, she finds the bloody clothes he was wearing when he murdered Sabrina. As a result, William is arrested, and Gabriel returns to the hotel. There, Frida finally reveals to Gabriel that she murdered Annie. Gabriel is very upset by Frida’s confession, and the two part. However, they reconnect afterward, and he admits that he, too, would have killed Annie to protect their freedom, reaffirming the strength of their bond.