Cutting It Fine Synopsis
Hairdresser Rose is content with her life working at the salon and living with her childhood sweetheart. That is, until her least favourite client, would-be influencer, Em, unwittingly drops a bombshell that blows Rose’s world apart. Em is enthusing about the new man in her life, blissfully unaware of her hairdresser’s growing realisation that this new love is, in fact, Rose’s husband, Olly. At first Rose refuses to believe it but when her best friend, Poppy, who works at the same gym as Olly sees him and Em together, she becomes fixated on making Em pay. On a drunken night out, Poppy comes up with the idea of using Em’s DNA to implicate her in a crime, as being her hairdresser, Rose has access to it. They plan various scenarios, none of which would be realistic in the cold light of day. Rose meets Dan at the salon, who says he is a police officer, and under the guise of helping a friend who is writing a book, meets him and discusses various ways in which someone could be framed for a crime. Dan takes an unhealthy interest and it isn’t long before any pretence of it being material for a book disappears. He becomes controlling and soon Rose is trapped in a situation which spirals out of control and cannot thwart his plan to kidnap Olly and frame Em for his abduction, punishing them both. He threatens the safety of her family if she doesn’t go along with his plan. Poppy is horrified that Rose is still thinking about the mad schemes they hatched on their night out, and warns her about Dan, but it is already too late. She tells Rose to confront Olly and have it out with him, but Rose knows that once the words are said, there is no going back. She is sure that punishing Em and removing her from their lives is the answer. Rose feels isolated as she lies to everyone around her. When Dan abducts Olly, Rose’s world begins to fall apart as she has no idea where he is. She obeys Dan’s instruction to report Olly missing to the police, hinting that Em might be involved. Once Rose delivers the incriminating DNA evidence to Dan to plant at the scene she expects Olly to be released but is thrown when Dan suddenly demands a ransom. Walter, the elderly man who lives next door gives her the money to pay the ransom and Rose is consumed with guilt that she hasn’t told him the full truth. The police plan to catch the kidnapper when the ransom is paid is foiled by Dan and he gets away with the money. Eventually the police receive an anonymous phone call giving details of Olly’s whereabouts. He is found close to death. Em is arrested. A distraught Rose confesses all to Poppy who advises her to stick to her story which Rose reluctantly does, especially as it becomes evident that Olly believes he was kidnapped by Em. Rose and Olly attempt to rebuild their marriage and Rose’s pregnancy gives an added incentive. But one day, as she is leaving the salon. Dan reappears. He is under the impression that they are going to have a life together now that Em and Olly are out of the way. He is taken aback when Rose reveals that Olly is still alive. Rose realises that Olly is now in danger and reveals all to him. He makes her go and tell the police everything. Rose knows that he will never forgive her. Having confessed all, Rose agrees to meet Dan again under police surveillance and, wearing a wire, get him to incriminate himself. This time the police are successful and arrest him. Rose learns that Dan was dismissed from the force for gross misconduct years earlier and has a history of unhinged, vigilante-type justice. Rose confesses all to her family and Walter and strives to put things right. The fact that she has helped in Dan’s capture along with the fact that she is pregnant go in her favour and she is given a suspended sentence. And as her friends and family remind her, Rose was also a victim. Olly and Em make a successful life together as personalities and influencers on the back of their story and Em’s wrongful arrest. There is an agreement that Rose’s part in the story won’t be mentioned for their baby’s sake and the wider family. Rose vows that her child will not grow up to be as naïve as she was, and that they will never be afraid to deal with problems head-on.
