What kind of mother would leave behind her daughter?
It's the name of a new podcast I'm starting.
Ian said that you made a breakthrough in the case today, Sophie.
Alice and Jack might have been
brother and sister.
[all exclaim]
I forgot what it was like living with her. Eggshells.
Grace, any intrusive thoughts?
[horn blares]
Feeling good.
[Sophie] Alice's white dress, it wasn't in the wardrobe.
Do you think she was wearing it when she went missing?
We never found it. Why are you so curious?
Connie gave me the house,
so I guess she wanted me to be interested.
- [screaming] - Where did you find it?
Are these bloodstains?
If you're going to stick around,
you may as well make yourself useful.
You should never have brought her here.
[laughter]
[insects chirping] [water lapping]
[Callum] Night everybody. Thanks again for dinner.
[Sophie] Good night mate, thanks for coming.
[Grace] Come on, Callum. Good night.
[Sophie] Bye.
["Please Send Me Someone To Love" by Peggy Lee playing]
[Ian] Hey, thanks for letting me stay.
I had no idea the ferries stopped so early.
[Sophie] Yeah it's fine. I put a pillow and blanket on the couch.
♪ Understanding and peace of mind ♪
Can I help?
No, I'm all good. You go relax.
I'm used to doing things on my own.
[Sophie] How many eggs did I get?
[doctor] It wasn't a strong count I'm afraid.
♪ When he's gone ♪
♪ And if it's not asking too much ♪
[sniffing]
♪ Please send me someone to love ♪
Good night.
Come here, and sit.
♪ I lay awake and ponder world troubles ♪
♪ And the answer is always the same ♪
[Ian] Ahh...
♪ Then unless men puts an end to this terrible sin ♪
[Ian] Oh, that's nice.
♪ Hate will put the world in flame, what a shame ♪
♪ Just because I'm in misery ♪
[Sophie sniffing]
Do you...
Do you smell that?
Ugh.
♪ Please send me someone to love ♪
[Ian] What is it?
[Sophie exclaiming]
[Sophie] Foul! Uh...
[exhaling] [sloshing noise]
[Sophie] Oooh...
[Ian] It looks like a river of shit!
It's the septic!
[baby crying]
[Grace] I couldn't get him to sleep?
I can try.
[sighing] Hey, mate.
[softly] Hey...
Come here...
[machine whirring]
[birds calling]
[Ian] Yeah, and you know,
the near drowning and sewage aside -
the complication of you living on an island
makes it hard to imagine finding time to explore this.
That's fair.
Plus, you know, it's not just me I have to factor in -
I have a daughter.
And I didn't fuck you.
You came all the way out here
and I don't want to stroke your hair, let alone fuck you.
["Riverside" by Agnes Obel playing]
♪ Down by the river by the boat ♪
♪ Where everybody goes to be alone ♪
♪ Where you won't see any rising sun ♪
♪ Down to the river we will run ♪
♪ Oh my God I see down by the riverside ♪
- Hey. - Hey.
I found the leak.
Outboard took in some water though.
Er, I might be wrong, but I think she's a goner.
Oh God. I am making a mess of things.
Ha ha, it's teething.
Yeah...
So um, where's the lawyer?
Does he need a lift back to the mainland?
No, he's catching the ferry.
I was going to drop him overboard anyway.
Yeah, I was just going to never, ever text him again.
- Less fun. - [laughing] Yeah.
Hey, Grace wants us
to have you over for dinner tomorrow.
She thinks we should start seeing people again, so...
Ah.
I mean, I was just thinking that I should probably just tell her,
you know, about Thailand.
Yeah, I, I don't know if that's a good idea.
I think it's a bit too late to tell her now.
It'll look worse.
Yeah, true.
So, tomorrow then?
- Good. - Cool.
[Veronika] Sophie!
Sophie, we have our first interview
for our podcast with a proper detective.
We?
Well, yeah, I told her that I was bringing
a magazine writer.
She was impressed, and you said you'd help with it.
So I'm going to ask her to test the blood on the dress for us.
Ah, no, I have to deal with the boat
and I have a septic issue.
Well Dad's dealing with that.
Also, you never turn the pump off - amateur.
What...
I didn't turn the pump off.
[Veronika] Come on, you're driving. I lost my licence.
How do you lose a boat licence?
[Callum] Have fun guys.
[Veronika] It's Detective Audrey.
So, how do you two know each other?
Ah, boxing! Started when I split from Jeremy.
She's got a great left hook.
[Audrey] So you want me to get DNA from something
that may, oh honestly, may not be blood,
from over 50 years ago?
Has the dress been cryogenically stored
in an uncontaminated space?
It's been in my Nanna's basement.
Hm-mm.
[Audrey] I'm going to be honest with you,
I think DNA's a long shot at this point,
but those bloodstains, they might not be your lead.
I reckon check the label of the dress.
That might tell you something.
Huh.
[Veronika] The label of the dress.
I didn't think of that.
Hey Audrey, you should come visit us on the island.
I'm sure Veronika would show you around Alice and Jack's.
I would love that.
[Sophie] We have red silk.
Huh, another 'Model Gown'. Interesting.
- [Veronika] Really? - [Sophie] Hmm.
[Veronika] Model Gowns.
One cocktail dress - black - also Model Gowns, in...
- I think this is crepe. - Great.
Oh hey. Okay...
So Model Gowns was the label for the bespoke dress designer
for Finch & Sons department stores in the 1950s and 60s.
And Alice had two of them.
Jack was a gambler, so, maybe he had a lucky streak.
- Okay, shoes, gumboots. - Okay.
Sandals and black heels.
Low. Sensible.
This look says, funeral,
or shopgirl!
- Shopgirl? - Yeah.
[Sophie] You said Finch & Sons, right?
Wait a second.
What?
[Sophie] A Facebook group for ex Finch & Sons girls.
Same dress, same shoes.
Fuck me.
[Sophie] Our first real clue.
[Margie] Darling. I can't talk.
I told everyone I'm starting a photography course today.
Okay, Mum! Alice worked at Finch & Sons.
Mum!
She's at class, and why are you here?
With a bag?
What class?
Ah Mum, Thomas is here.
I'm, I'm just going to put you on speaker.
No, no, no. I can't talk.
[Veronika] This Alice news is huge.
[Thomas] Yeah, it's riveting.
Mum, I'm going to be staying for a couple of days, probably.
We're fine.
Deborrah kicked you out?
Deb-or-rah kicked me out - three syllables, and no she didn't.
Are you okay, sweetheart?
- Deborrah kicked him out. - [Thomas] It's Deb-or-rah.
I'll be back later. You can sleep in your dad's office.
There's silverside in the fridge.
No, he can't, Margie. It's a working office.
Where's your mother?
- [phone disconnected] - Oh my God, smell you.
Get out!
I've been elbow deep in a septic tank all morning.
- Oh, Sophie's septic? - [Veronika] Jealous?
- He smells fine. - [Veronika] Ahh...
Hi, take a seat.
[gentle music]
[man quietly] Fuck! No good...
Maybe you have to turn it off and on again.
Yeah, I think it's frozen.
Technology hates me.
[bell ringing]
[man clearing throat]
Hey everyone, and welcome to Creative Composition.
My name's Ronald.
Well, if my PowerPoint is behaving,
we're going to start with a photo
from Angelina Banjo's seminal work, 'The Sexual Prism'.
I want to start by talking a little bit about...
[pensive music]
[Russian folk music playing]
[music continues playing loudly]
[Sophie with Russian accent] Oh, Jack!
Jack!
I am Russian. Da. Nyet.
I work at the Finch & Sons in the Model Gowns,
and I am pregnant!
[groaning] I am pregnant!
I, er, knocked.
Door was open.
[music stops]
Zeke...
[watch ticking]
...the gardener.
Right...
I hear you're looking for a boat.
[motor chugging]
[Zeke] Handles well. Doesn't chew up the diesel.
Yeah, I love it. Why are you selling?
Cashflow issue.
I'm putting in a tender for rubbish collection.
Then I'll have that barge to get around.
I hear rubbish collection is really rewarding.
It always ranks high on job satisfaction.
[Sophie VO] "P.S. There is one young man
"who I believe will capture your heart
"when you come to the island."
How long have you lived out here?
River rat. Three generations.
[Sophie VO] "I feel as though it may be fated."
[Sophie] So you knew Connie?
Great lady.
And garbage is a, is a passion of yours
or is it more of a side hustle?
You like your questions?
Where are we going?
You tell me, Question Mark.
Do you know the cove where Alice and Jack's boat washed up?
- Swampy's Cove. - Can you take me?
It's this way.
[gentle upbeat music]
Thanks.
That's their boat.
It's like a grave.
[Zeke] This is their tree.
How long has that been there?
Dunno. Forever.
[suspenseful music]
Isn't it a strange coincidence that the boat washed up
right by their special tree.
[Zeke] You coming, Question Mark?
Zeke!
Zeke?
Hey, would you say that the great lady Connie
was fond of you?
[Sophie] She wrote me a letter.
Have you heard anything about it?
[gentle orchestral music]
[Sophie] Hello?
Zeke!
Zeke!?
[screaming]
Jesus fucking Christ!
What's wrong with you? Are you a serial killer?
Oh my God!
[laughing] Is this your thing?
Is this what you do? Bring random women out here
and scare the shit out of them.
[Sophie] Hey, wait for me.
[Zeke] I won't look.
Stop it.
[both laughing]
- [Sophie] Cool. - [Zeke] See ya.
Bye.
Ron! Thank you for looking at the septic.
Pleasure. You will need a new one.
Oh, you're kidding?
Is that for Rose?
Hmm, worst kept secret on the island.
Yeah, Zeke was showing me his boat.
Did you like it?
Ah, I don't really know enough about boats.
Well you're looking at about four grand
for a new runabout, as well.
Quite the expensive exercise, living on an island, isn't it?
Yeah.
I think I'm going to have to take the ferry from now on.
You know, if it does get too much,
I might be interested in making an offer on the house.
Not for me, for Veronika.
I think I should give it a proper go.
Connie wanted me here for whatever reason.
We all want you.
Good. Well thank you again.
- It's okay. Anytime. - Yep.
- Bye. - See ya.
Who's this?
My mum, Connie and my aunt, Rose.
My mum died not too long ago.
I'm sorry.
It's really wonderful.
[Ronald] Hm...
They all are.
They're just my happy snaps.
[knocking]
- Oh hey. - Special delivery from Zeke.
Oh, you met Zeke. That was fast.
[Sophie] Yeah, he took me to Swampy's Cove
to see the old boat.
Here...
So will you be bringing lots of men to family dinner?
I hope so. A bit of fun. That's what we need.
My daughter is no fun.
I think Sophie's going to have sex with Zeke.
No, no I'm not.
Well who wouldn't? I had sex with his father.
Good genes, and his grandfather. Just the once.
- But Sophie's after a husband. - With Zeke?
Oh no, that's not going to work.
No, I'm, I'm really not.
Just a baby then?
[Rose] Wind's dropped.
I'm going for a walk.
Have I upset her?
Oh no, she's always moody.
Connie used to say, people who don't get married go sour.
Maybe that's why we all rushed into dodgy marriages.
Do you think it's triggering Rose?
Stirring up the mystery?
It's not Rose's mystery and it's not Connie's.
It's mine and I want it stirred up.
I used to think it was so glamorous, you know,
being the Munro Baby, I felt special.
But...
Like something terrible happened to them.
My parents, I mean, that's obvious.
It feels like it's passed down somehow.
Like from them, to me, to Grace and now there's a baby.
I know a bit about trauma myself
and I wouldn't want to pass that on.
Will you just keep digging for my sake?
Now where's the wine?
[gentle uplifting music]
Oh hey sweetheart.
I took him for a walk and he fell asleep.
Didn't want to move.
Had a fight with Mum.
Did she tell you?
Bound to happen.
[Veronika] Oi!
When did you sneak in?
Oh, I just got here. I should check on Thomas. Is he inside?
No idea. He's probably staring through Sophie's windows,
like a weirdo.
[Grace] I'm having Sophie for dinner tomorrow.
If you want to come.
I'll be busy with the podcast.
We're getting really close to Alice.
I've been sending out Facebook messages all day.
I don't think Alice is much of a mystery.
She's just a woman who walked out on her baby.
She just left her baby behind.
[baby gurgling]
Hmm, bye.
[Veronika] Bye.
What you looking at, Ollie?
Hey...
We're okay.
Hmm...
Aren't we?
We're all right.
[Grace] Leave the dishes, Mum. I'll do it.
- Where's the baby? - Callum's with him.
Do you think you might be taking him for granted?
God!
You just, you sound like you're from a different era.
Resentment festers. Even in the best marriages.
I should know.
Callum doesn't resent me.
You do.
Why'd you say that we could stay?
- Don't yell at me, Grace. - I'm not yelling.
[Callum knocking] Poo explosion. I'm just going to run a bath.
Leave it, Callum. It's Grace's job.
- It's not, it's not my job. - I didn't say job.
I said it's your turn. It's your turn.
God forbid I should offer you any sage advice.
I'm only trying to help you.
Don't...
Connie?
If you're listening...
I'm probably going to change a few things.
[gentle piano music]
[electrical crackling]
[insects chirping]
[mobile phone chiming]
[text sending whoosh alert] [text receiving whoosh alert]
[whoosh]
You had a question for me?
Do you want to buy my boat?
["Yummy Yummy Yummy" by Julie London playing]
♪ Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I got love in my tummy ♪
[Zeke moaning]
[Sophie moaning]
♪ Love, you're such a sweet thing ♪
♪ Good enough to eat thing ♪
[moaning continues]
♪ Ooh love to hold you Ooh love to kiss you ♪
♪ Ooh love, I love it so ♪
♪ Ooh love you're sweeter, sweeter than sugar ♪
♪ Ooh love I wont let you go ♪
♪ Oh oh oh no... ♪
[Enigma] Rose!
Rose!
Rose?
I've been kicked out of my own house.
[Veronika] Hey!
You ready for this?
[Veronika chuckling]
Oh my God, this is a walk of shame.
Whatever!
Look, I found a Finch & Sons shopgirl who remembers Alice.
[Veronika] We're talking about the same Alice Munro, right?
We're making a podcast about her.
[Veronika] This woman, right there.
[Jan] There she is.
[Veronika] Do you remember when she disappeared?
She stopped coming to work around Christmas '67.
[Sophie] Any idea why she stopped coming?
Can we get some air?
[Jan] One day a man sat down to breakfast.
Wack! He copped a breadboard at the back of the head.
Apparently he bled out at the kitchen table.
[Veronika] Wait! I know that story.
That's Breadboard Man. There's a podcast about it.
They never found the killer. You think that Alice did it?
If she did kill him,
I wouldn't blame her in the slightest.
- Sorry? - The man, who was murdered.
Mr. Finch, our manager, the owner's son.
Breadboard Man was Alice Munro's boss?
He was a stickler for rules,
even though he liked to break them himself.
Whenever he pleased, however he pleased.
Two days before that Christmas
he paraded in his new fiance.
Such a romantic man.
[Mr. Finch] Alice, take care of my sweetheart, will you?
Of course.
[Alice] This way.
[Jan] I wasn't pretty. Alice was beautiful.
Good jobs for girls were scarce.
You did what you had to do.
[Jan] She laughed about him.
[laughing]
[Jan] But she couldn't help herself.
Don't stay with him.
[Jan] I'll never forget it, the way she said it.
[Alice] You can do better.
[Jan] Next day, she was fired.
[Sophie] How did you find out she was missing?
I read it in the paper. I saw her photo.
Why didn't you come forward?
I did. I called the paper, I called the police,
but no one was interested in talking to me.
He was part of a well-known family.
I even went out to the island
and spoke to the woman who found Alice's baby.
Tall woman. She sold me a mug from the gift shop.
That would've been Connie.
- Connie! That's right. - Yes.
She said she didn't want any of this
to tarnish Alice's memory,
or upset the daughter.
I thought you said it wasn't a story.
[pensive music]
[Veronika] Breadboard Man!
He has motive and then he kills Alice.
Yeah, but not before she gives birth to his baby.
And then, brother Jack steps in to protect her
and he knocks him off too.
Boom! Case closed.
[Enigma talking to tourists in background]
[baby starts crying]
[baby's cry echoing]
That's not your baby.
[woman] Give him to me.
[tense music]
[baby continues crying]
Sounds like he's hungry.
[wind blowing]
[baby gurgling]
[Enigma] ...who lived here on the island
vowed to raise me as their own.
As we head inside, just a reminder,
tickets are now on sale at the gift shop
for our traditional anniversary celebration.
[door opening]
Just mind the step.
[baby gurgling]
[Callum] Hey babe!
What you guys do after the mother's group?
Nothing! We just walked around the city.
[Callum] Did you like any of the other mothers?
- [knocking] - [Sophie] Hi!
Sorry if I'm a bit early.
[Callum] No you're good. Come on in.
[Sophie] Okay...
[Sophie] Oh, hello... Hello, smiler...
Oh my God, he's too much.
[Callum] Oh thank you. Come on in.
- Grace is just in the kitchen. - Okay.
- Hi, thanks for having me. - You're welcome.
- Um, cake... - Oh, thank you.
That's so sweet.
- So beautiful. - Mm.
Oh, hey, I should have said if you wanted to bring the lawyer,
you, you could have, I...
Ah, he's in the crab pot. R-I-P!
I did meet Zeke though.
- Oh, Zeke. - Yeah, the gardener.
[Callum] Yeah, Grace lost her virginity to Zeke.
Did, did, you?
[Grace] Don't Callum!
- Zeke's great. - Fuck.
He's a young soul.
Yes. Ah, well I brought some champagne.
- Oh. - If you wanted to have a drink.
- I'm breastfeeding. - Ah yeah, of course.
Callum wants me to give up. Switch to formula.
I'm just saying that, you know, I made up two bottles of formula
and you could probably have one drink.
Yeah actually there's um, there's an app
that my friends swear by...
Oh my God, I can't remember the name of it.
It's, yeah, basically it tells you how long you have to wait
after you've been drinking to be able to nurse again.
I can't remember the name of it though.
[tense music]
[ragged breathing]
[tense music]
[Grace hyperventilating]
Hey, what's in that?
- [Callum] Get it out. - [Sophie] What?
Get it out!
[Callum] You're okay...
[ragged breathing]
[tense music building] [ragged breathing continues]
[Grace moaning]
[Callum] Okay. You're okay, babe.
Okay, you're good babe. Okay.
Okay. She's anaphylactic - anything with nuts in it.
[Sophie] So sorry...
[Callum] No, no, it's my fault, I should have said something.
Soph do you mind washing your hands for us, please?
Thanks.
- You okay? - Hm-mm.
- Alright, let's sit you up. - Hm-mm.
Here we go. Here we go. Okay.
I'm going to take you to hospital
just to make sure everything's okay.
- No, it's fine. I'm fine. - [baby crying]
- Hey um, Soph? - Yeah.
Do you mind getting Ollie for me, please?
- Yeah, of course. - Cheers.
[baby crying]
- You okay? - Yeah.
- Okay, we'll go. Okay? - Don't need to. I'm good.
- Babe, let's just... - I'm alright, I'm fine.
- [Sophie] He's okay. - [Callum] Okay...
[baby gurgling]
- [Callum] Hey, you alright? - Yeah.
- Alright... - I'm so sorry.
[gentle calm music]
I guess I will have that drink after all.
- [Sophie] Gosh, me too. - [Callum] Yeah, make that three.
[Enigma] Am I a bad mother, Rose?
Eat your soup.
That's a yes.
Is that a yes?
Well, if you are a bad mother, you've got no excuse.
Really?
Me who was abandoned at birth. I have no excuse.
Connie was a wonderful mother to you.
You couldn't have had better.
[sighing]
Alright, clearly I'm a monster.
We're all monsters.
But good mothers hide their monsters in the cupboard
or under the bed.
They put their children's interests first
at their own expense.
[roaring] Raaarrrr!
[door slamming]
[Enigma roaring again in the distance]
It's nothing new. Mum lashes out. I apologise.
I mean, that's been the dynamic forever.
[all chuckle quietly]
Once, I'm about to turn 12 and at this point,
Mum hasn't spoken to me for about a month.
53 days was her longest stint.
What?
And this time I'd, I'd trekked some mud
into the house, I think.
But also Dad had just run off with the dental hygienist
from his practise.
[Grace] This is funny. This is a funny story...
Okay...
[Grace] So I get home from school
and I have a Summer Roll bar in my pocket.
- Do you remember Summer Rolls? - Yeah.
They were like 70 cents at the tuck shop.
- [Callum] Yeah. - [Grace] Right.
Anyway, I get home and I can't find Mum anywhere,
so I go looking for her,
and I find her just down here on Mystery Beach.
And I take out the Summer Roll, still wrapped,
and I hold it out between us,
and I say, "You talk to me right now,
"or I will eat this Summer Roll and I will die."
"Your call, Mum."
And we both know it's filled with peanuts,
so it's not like it's, it's an idle threat.
But she doesn't blink.
She lets me unwrap it.
Lets me put it right up to my mouth,
and yeah, I mean by this point my throat is closing over,
my whole face swelling up.
She still doesn't stop me.
My mother just looks at me, dead in the eye...
...and I can't breathe.
I really need to breathe, so I have to try and find my EpiPen
and Mum's not going to help me with that.
No way!
It's my responsibility to know where it is at all times,
and I, I am responsible, so I know where it is
and I jab myself and I can breathe again...
...and I can breathe again knowing that my Mum...
...who I love...
...would have...
Would she have?
It's okay.
And then she smiled,
and she says her first words to me in a month...
"A woman has to save herself however she can."
She says, "A woman has to be resourceful...
"..always."
Words to live by.
You've never told me that.
Haven't I?
[Callum] No...
Honey, I think the baby...
[Grace] Yes...
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Excuse me.
- Excuse me. - [Sophie] Yeah.
[Sophie softly] Grace...
I guess I'm not breastfeeding tonight.
I'm so glad you moved to the island.
["Maybe I'm Amazed" by Carleen Anderson playing]
♪ Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time ♪
♪ Or maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you ♪
♪ Maybe I'm amazed at the way you moved me out of time ♪
♪ And hung me on the line ♪
♪ Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you ♪
♪ Maybe I'm the one Maybe I'm the lonely one ♪
♪ Who's in the middle of something ♪
♪ That I don't really understand ♪
♪ Maybe you're the man Maybe you're the only man ♪
♪ Who could ever help me ♪
♪ Baby, won't you help me understand? ♪