Victim of Love

Tess Parker, a therapist, meets Paul Tomlinson, a charming English professor who immediately captivates her. She fights to keep professional boundaries as attraction blooms. The encounter sets the arc for a dangerous, intoxicating romance.

Carla, Tess's patient, comes to her with a story about a former lover who wanted to marry her but waited after his wife's death. The man began a relationship with someone else and vanished for a year, only to claim he was with another. Tess notices eerie echoes of Paul in Carla's tale, stirring professional concern.

Carla shows Tess a book written by her former lover, a detail that seems oddly familiar. Tess realizes the man in the book matches Paul's persona, linking the stories. The revelation makes Tess suspect that Paul may not be who he seems.

Tess confronts Paul with her suspicions, but he offers a careful denial, insisting they never had an affair and that he only sent flowers and a 'hard to find' book to show gratitude. He says he knew her only as a librarian who helped him. They share a brief kiss, but Carla arrives suddenly, shouting at Tess and shattering the moment.

The next day Tess goes to Carla's apartment expecting to find Carla, but finds the door open and the woman gone. In Carla's apartment, Tess discovers an explicit love letter to Carla signed by Paul, which she pockets as troubling evidence. The letter hints at a confusing, intimate history between Paul and Carla.

In the morning, Carla confronts Tess at her own home, warning that Paul killed his wife and could kill again. The accusation jolts Tess, but she has trouble reconciling it with Paul's charm. She resolves to investigate further rather than flee.

Tess questions Paul about the letter and asks for details on his wife. He says she died in a hiking accident after an argument, and that he wasn't there at the time. Rangers reported no foul play, and he insists they were not the perfect couple but he loved her.

Tess and Paul return to Tess's place to find it in disarray, with blood in the kitchen. Paul pushes Tess to leave as he calls the police, heightening the sense that danger lurks nearby. The scene intensifies Tess's fear and suspicion.

At Paul's place, while Paul is in the shower, Tess is locked in a room with a burning chair as danger escalates. Paul rescues Tess, and the police later question Carla but release her for lack of evidence. The tension makes Carla seem like the plausible killer, though no proof is found.

Tess and Paul travel to his mountain cabin as snow falls, and Paul places a ring on Tess's finger. The ring is the same one Carla claimed Paul made for her, a clue that convinces Tess that Paul is lying. The moment deepens Tess's doubt and shifts suspicion toward Carla's version of events.

Carla shows up at the cabin, claiming she came to save Tess and proposing to escape on foot because the roads are iced. Tess quietly agrees to the plan and they prepare to flee, while Paul realizes Tess is missing and begins to pursue. The alliance between Tess and Carla threatens Paul's control.

Paul follows footprints and confronts Tess and Carla on the snowy mountain trail. The ring Carla has is revealed to be the same as Paul's deceased wife's ring, implying Carla killed her to obtain it. This shocking truth reframes Carla as the danger and Paul as a manipulator.

Carla loses her footing at the mountain edge and falls to her death during the confrontation. The tragedy removes a central antagonist but leaves Tess shaken by the violent depths of Paul's world. The outcome confirms the peril Tess faced all along.

The next day, Tess and Paul carve their way out of the cabin, and Tess discovers two identical rings in the car—one matching the ring given to Paul’s wife and the other the one she now wears. The discovery deepens the sense that Paul deceives multiple people and may have engineered a pattern of manipulation. Tess struggles with the unsettling implication.

The film ends with the camera pulling back as Paul gets into the car, leaving Tess to confront the chilling truth about his duplicity. The rings symbolize a recurring cycle of manipulation and danger that remains unresolved. The final image lingers on Tess's wary realization of what she has stepped into.