To Die (Or Not)

Suzanne Stone arrives in Little Hope with Hollywood dreams, determined to become a world-famous broadcast journalist. She pursues on-air success with relentless drive and uses her glamour to capture attention. Her romance with Larry Maretto begins amid parental disapproval, setting the stage for a high-stakes marriage.

She leverages Larry's restaurant money to stabilize her finances while taking a position as an assistant at WWEN. Through persistent effort, she earns a promotion to the station's evening weather report. The increased visibility brings her closer to the fame she obsessively seeks.

At a local high school, she selects subjects for a documentary called Teens Speak Out. She attracts two troublemakers, Jimmy Emmett and Russel Hines, and befriends Lydia Mertz, a shy admirer. The relationships hint at the manipulation she will orchestrate to further her career.

Larry pressures Suzanne to give up her career for family and restaurant duties. He views domestic life as essential, while she sees him as an obstacle to her ambitions. The tension foreshadows the drastic steps she will take to secure her future.

Suzanne seduces Jimmy and convinces him to murder Larry, offering a future together in California if he goes through with it. She also manipulates Lydia into helping procure a gun, weaving a dangerous network around the crime. Her calculated plotting marks a turning point toward violent action.

One night, Jimmy and Russell break into the Marettos' condo and Jimmy shoots Larry. The police later rule the death a botched burglary rather than an assassination. The crime exposes Suzanne's manipulation as investigators connect the teens to the murder.

Police stumble upon a Teens Speak Out clip of Suzanne at the school, linking her to the crime. The clip triggers arrests for the teens and pulls Suzanne into the investigation as a person of interest.

Lydia agrees to wear a wire and meet Suzanne, who is unaware she is being recorded. The interview reveals Suzanne's hand in the murder, though she contends the police entrapped her. She is released on bail as the charges are dropped.

Suzanne fabricates a sensational story claiming Larry was a cocaine addict who was murdered by Jimmy and Russell. Her lie fuels sensational media coverage and helps secure harsher sentences for the teens while Lydia is released on probation.

Larry's father Joe, convinced Suzanne orchestrated his death, uses mafia connections to arrange her murder. A hitman lures Suzanne away from her home and kills her, and her body is concealed beneath a frozen lake.

Lydia tells her side of the story in a televised interview, catapulting her into national celebrity status. Her appearance reshapes public perception of the case and shifts attention away from Suzanne's manipulation.

Janice, Larry's sister who disliked Suzanne from the start, practices figure skating on the frozen lake where Suzanne's body lies. The scene ties the town's memory to the tragedy while the narrative lingers in the public eye.