Olivia

The story starts with Olivia as a five-year-old in London and jumps forward fifteen years to adulthood, then pushes forward several more years in the Arizona chapter. It moves from a urban, memory-laden London to a late-20th-century setting shaped by tourism and modern development.

The opening events unfold in London, near the River Thames and the London Bridge, where Olivia’s mother is murdered. Years later, the relocated London Bridge anchors a new tourism-driven town in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, around which a modern community develops. The two settings juxtapose historic memory with contemporary pilgrimage sites, underscoring Olivia’s fractured world.

🧠 Trauma & memory

Olivia is haunted by her mother’s murder and often hears her guiding voice, shaping decisions and blurring the line between memory and reality. The past continuously intrudes on present choices, driving much of the plot.

🕯️ Dual identity

Olivia’s life mirrors her mother’s fate, and a lookalike in the new town becomes a catalyst for obsession and memory. The narrative repeatedly tests what is real by cross-cutting between two eras and two versions of Olivia.

🔒 Control & domination

Olivia lives under controlling relationships, from a domineering husband to dangerous romantic encounters. The tension between autonomy and submission runs through the plot, shaping decisions and consequences.

⚔️ Violence & consequences

Violence escalates from murder to lethal confrontation, forcing Olivia to confront the harms she has endured and caused. The sequence of killings drives the emotional charge and ultimate resolution.