Sherrie Ahlin

Right from Wrong follows the story of five rape survivors through three and a half decades, 1980-2015. In the pursuit of unconventional methods to prevent sexual violence, the group becomes enmeshed in a scheme that kills a child molester. Little could the surviving survivors have known that, decades later, a beloved offspring turned police detective would uncover more than the mechanics of the homicidal plot. Falling into a fraudulent song and dance with their surrogate daughter leaves the group staggered. Then, slowly, the conjuring of their shared act uncovers both bold deception and intimate truths that could pull this damaged assemblage apart, but, instead, binds them together.

Family game night is in progress as a category-five hurricane bears down on Graham and Alison’s West Coast Florida home. But no amount of boarding up can protect them from the invasion which has already gone down. Alison harbors an instinctive distrust of her new brother-in-law, and Danny is impervious to Bruce’s charms. But Graham and Kris are easily beguiled. Bruce is riveted when Graham excitedly extols his study of human space travel. Bruce knows the lines of Kris’ favorite poem. But succeeding with Alison requires gleaning and offering reassurance around her deepest, perceived inadequacy. Just as Alison fully embraces her new brother-in-law, the dark side of Carley and Bruce’s relationship is exposed, and Alison finds her sister bloodied and shaken. Graham’s retaliation leads to a stint in the back of a police car with his wife and sister-in-law. It is in that setting, on a hot, dark night, after the storm, that Graham, Alison and Carley stumble upon the isolation that made them vulnerable to Bruce’s charms. The final scene brings the family together, but ends are not neatly tied.