Things Behind the Sun (2024) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Owen returns to his Florida hometown as a reporter for a Los Angeles music magazine to interview Sherry, a rising local rock singer. However, the trip is also deeply personal, Owen and Sherry were close childhood friends, and he carries unresolved guilt about a traumatic event from their past that he has never confronted.

Foreshadowing: The summary notes that Owen's return 'quickly becomes a deeply personal reckoning,' hinting that the professional assignment masks something darker.

• Owen
• Sherry
• hometown
• interview
• reporter
• return

Sherry wrote a song about being raped as a girl, which became a hit on college radio. The stark, personal account of her trauma connected with listeners in a way that turned her into a focal point for conversation about trauma, memory, and accountability, making her both famous and vulnerable.

• Sherry
• song
• rape
• college radio
• trauma
• hit song

Owen already knows the identities of the men who raped Sherry, but during his visit he realizes the ringleader is his own brother, Dan. This personal connection transforms the story from a professional assignment into a painful family crisis.

Foreshadowing: The timeline reveals that Owen knew the rapists' identities from the start, making the discovery of Dan's involvement a confirmation rather than a surprise.

• Dan
• Owen's brother
• rapist
• ringleader
• identity

On the day Sherry brought Owen a mixtape, he was dragged from his room and forced to participate in her gang-rape. He later confessed to Sherry that he didn't realize it was her until after it was over, a revelation that adds another layer of betrayal to their relationship.

Foreshadowing: The mixtape Sherry brings serves as the catalyst for the assault, appearing moments before the brutal event.

• Owen
• Sherry
• assault
• gang rape
• forced
• mixtape

As a child, Owen developed a pattern of turning up the volume on music to block out the sounds of Dan and his friends committing rapes in the adjacent room. This defense mechanism allowed him to avoid confronting the violence, but also made him complicit by his silence.

Foreshadowing: The summary notes that 'the contrast between the music that once drowned out screams and the stark realities that emerge later' creates moral complexity.

• Owen
• music
• violence
• block out
• complicity
• childhood

Owen sends details of Sherry's assault to Dan's parole officer and to his own editor. He also locates twelve other victims willing to testify against Dan before the parole board. His goal is to ensure Dan never leaves prison, driven by a need for justice and closure.

• Owen
• Dan
• parole officer
• editor
• testify
• twelve victims

Owen finds twelve other girls who were raped by Dan and his friends. These women are willing to testify against Dan at his parole board hearing, strengthening the case to keep him imprisoned permanently.

• twelve victims
• testify
• Dan
• parole board
• witnesses

When Dan demands to know why Owen is acting against him, Owen responds that he did it because he loved Sherry. This confession reveals that his motivation combines guilt over his past complicity with a protective love for Sherry, reframing his actions as a painful act of devotion.

• Owen
• love
• Sherry
• Dan
• betrayal
• confession
• motive

After the assault, Owen told Sherry that he didn't know it was her until it was over. However, the timeline suggests he may have realized the truth sooner but chose not to act, making his confession a partial truth that further complicates their restored trust.

• Owen
• Sherry
• confession
• didn't know
• lie
• trust

Sherry visits Owen to give him a mixtape on the exact day she is raped. The mixtape becomes both a symbol of their childhood friendship and a tragic marker of the day her life changed, representing innocence immediately before its destruction.

• mixtape
• Sherry
• Owen
• friendship
• day of rape
• symbol

With Owen's testimony and the twelve victims willing to testify, Dan's parole is denied and he will remain imprisoned. The disclosures seal his fate, ensuring he never leaves prison for his crimes.

• Dan
• imprisoned
• parole denied
• twelve victims
• justice
• fate

The film ends with Owen choosing truth and accountability over family loyalty, resulting in Dan's permanent imprisonment. However, there is no easy redemption, Owen's actions come at a personal cost, and the irreversible damage caused by the violence cannot be undone, leaving a complex emotional resolution.

• ending
• bittersweet
• justice
• accountability
• redemption
• complexity