Not one to miss her opportunity, Briony convinces everyone at the scene, including authorities, that the assailant was Robbie Turner, and he is taken to jail. Briony, who is searching alone, witnesses a rape taking place of her older cousin Lola. Before she can do so, she witnesses the couple making love and mistakes it for assault, further confirming her assumption that Robbie is out to harm Cecilia.īefore the night is through, her twin cousins run away from home triggering the rest of the dinner guests to search for them in the dark night.

In it, she discovers perverse desires and sets out to protect her sister from this sex-craved maniac. What is an innocent act is greatly misunderstood by the young imagination, and this sets off a series of events with eternal consequences.įollowing the fountain scene, Briony intercepts a letter from Robbie to Cecilia and reads it. Before the play can be properly rehearsed, Briony witnesses a scene between her older sister Cecilia and the son of the family charwoman Robbie Turner. She has written a play to be performed at dinner for the homecoming of her brother, Leon, and put on by herself and her three cousins who are staying with the Tallises for the summer because of a divorce between their parents. It focuses on Briony Tallis, the thirteen-year-old youngest daughter of three, who aspires to be a writer.

Part One tells the story of one day/night in 1935 at the Tallis family estate north of London, England. 'Atonement' is a book written in three major parts, with a final denouement from the author.

Book atonement