Synopsis for: Title: The Denial Game (a romantic tragedy) Author: Dimity Jane Cox Manuscript word count: 55,797 This is a story about passion, love and loss. The backdrop is a marriage, which on the surface, and according to social expectations, appears to be going well. However, one five second action causes a minor quake in the foundations of the relationship. The tremor was a show of intimacy between Alec (the husband) and Stella, a close friend of Caroline’s (the wife and main protagonist of the story). It leads to suspicions, fights and denials. Caroline’s retrospection uncovers all sorts of trivia, previously assumed to be of little importance but passing curiosities. Strangely enough though, those tiny inconsistencies, don’t get forgotten; they didn’t get packed away in the file of oblivion but fluttered about in the mind like litter blown into the branches of a tree, disturbing an otherwise, elegant form. Caroline weaves these tiny pieces of evidence together and the result is a disturbing tapestry of deceit. With total and absolute denials from Alec and no adequate explanation for the intimacy other than the absurd, Caroline accepts an invitation from a friend to spend some time in Paris. A few days later, Alec follows her there to encourage her to return home. They fight and she threatens him with divorce so he admits to his affair with Stella and apologizes. Soon afterwards and relying on the fact that there were no witnesses to his admission and apology, Alec withdraws them and reassumes his innocence; he insists that it is all in Caroline’s head; that she delusional and that she is fixated with Stella. Caroline cannot accept this untruth so she decides to stay in Paris. Caroline’s friend (Dahlia) departs for her summer vacation, leaving Caroline to house-sit. Being determined to carve out a new persona for herself without her overbearing husband, Caroline embarks on a language course, which takes up a large part of her days. Between classes she refuses to submit to loneliness but defiantly ventures out. By chance, she meets someone (Laurent, a divorced journalist) with whom she has a pleasant but platonic relationship. There is an underlying hint of frisson between them but their innocent enjoyment of each other’s company conceals it. Laurent invites Caroline to his mill house in the South of France where their relationship deepens and burgeons into an intense love affair; a merging of souls. They share many things in common including the love of a classic car, a Citroen DS. The thrust of the story centres around the passionate intimacy, which the lovers share. They presume nothing of each other because they are not burdened with anticipations, goals or expectations; neither has anything to lose. As their stay together comes to an end, Laurent realizes that he cannot live without Caroline. However, although her heart is committed, she adeptly avoids any mention of the future (partly because she is married but also because she is wrapped up in the whirlwind of her new experiences, and hasn’t considered the repercussions on her life). Hence Laurent is on tenterhooks, anxious to make future plans and desperate not to lose her. They have a beautiful last evening and night together at a small exclusive hotel in Eze on the Riviera. Then, on their return to the house, they have an accident. He swerves to protect her. Laurent dies, Caroline lives and Alec takes her back to London where she tries to live with her loss. The engulfing grief leads her on a downhill trajectory. She takes refuge in her vivid memories and relives her blissful affair in secret. Her obsession leads her to search for more and more connections: Google Earth, scents, foods, etc. She incorporates these into a portfolio, a shrine to Laurent. Caroline’s Google Earth searches of the South of France lead her to the idea of renting or buying there. Alec has always wanted to do this so he didn’t need much convincing. She uses her newfound deviousness to look for a property for sale near where she and Laurent had stayed. To her amazement, she finds one so similar …. but it is Laurent’s property; his family has put it on the market after his death. She encourages her husband to buy it and they stay there more and more until she is always there while he goes back and forth to London and abroad. Caroline finds the old camera, which she and Laurent had used on an excursion. It was in the boot of the DS, which came with the property. She revels in the memories and starts to slip into a fantasy world where she imagines that she and her lover are together. She conjures all the pleasures they experienced. Meanwhile, Alec is so involved in his business and away for so much of the time that he is oblivious to her obsession and deteriorating mental state. Caroline starts to converse with a fantasy friend, Cecile, whom she took from Alexander Dumas’s novel of the same name. She finds a strong connection with Cecile’s tragedy. Finally, the draw of her fantasy world leads her to orchestrate her own tragedy.

Erotica, Romance, Drama,

This is a story about passion, love and loss. The backdrop is a marriage; the thrust of the story is intimacy; the finality is tragedy.

London, Paris, South of France

No

Internal Journey/Rebirth

Twist

Information not completed

Name: Caroline

Age: 48

Gender: Female

Role: Emotional

Key Traits: Complex, Honorable, Romantic, Seductive, Empathetic

Name: Laurent

Age: 55

Gender: Male

Role: Emotional

Key Traits: Selfless, Adventurous, Charming, Complex, Empathetic, Engaging, Romantic, Seductive

Name: Alec

Age: 58

Gender: Male

Role: Antagonist

Key Traits: Leader, Manipulative, Power-hungry, Skillful, Charming, Aspiring, Confident, Narcissistic, Aggressive

The author has not yet written this

Age: 35-54

Target Gender: Universal

Information not completed

Status: No

No

Information not completed