Where Are the Children? 1986

Nancy Eldridge and her husband Clay Eldridge live in Adams Port, a quiet town on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where they raise two kids: 6-year-old Michael Eldridge and 5-year-old Missy Eldridge. One of Clay’s colleagues at the real estate office, Dorothy Prentiss, is a family friend who knows them well. On Nancy’s birthday, she lets the kids play in the back yard while she showers, only to discover one of Missy’s red mittens dangling from the swing’s chain when she finishes. Clay and Dorothy rush over, finding Nancy beside herself with fear as Michael and Missy are missing. They call the police, and Chief Coffin heads the investigation, stepping in with a steady, methodical approach.

The kidnapper sends a message to Lenny Barron, a local radio DJ at WOMR, revealing a disturbing glimpse into Nancy’s past. The information takes them back to San Francisco, where Nancy’s life as Nancy Holder is remembered, a time when her hair color was different and her two children, Lisa and Peter, vanished nine years earlier. Two weeks after their disappearance, their bodies were found washed up on a beach near San Francisco Bay, suffocated with plastic bags. Nancy is haunted by a wrongful conviction for their deaths in a controversial trial, and the memory of being labeled guilty haunts her. Her husband at the time, Carl Holder, is believed to have killed himself a week after the verdict. Nancy’s attorney manages to overturn the conviction, and she relocates to Cape Cod to escape the stigma and the past. There, she begins dying her hair a different color, trying to leave California behind. With Rob Legler, a biology instructor in Carl’s department who testified on Nancy’s behalf, gone to Canada, the prosecution loses its strong witness and cannot mount a retrial.

Clay has known about Nancy’s past long before they wed, and his support remains unwavering as she tries to heal from the losses of Lisa and Peter, and from the system that doubted her. The arrival of Michael and Missy marks a turning point, giving Nancy a chance at happiness that she fears losing again. Her dread grows when Chief Coffin, prompted by new information gathered from Lenny and Deputy Bernie Miles, becomes fixated on Nancy as a potential suspect in the disappearances of her own children’s era’s victims. This renewed scrutiny feels like a fresh wound reopening an old nightmare that Nancy had hoped was finally closed.

In parallel, Nancy’s confidant, her therapist Dr. Jonathan Knowles, helps her confront painful memories of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband. The conversation reveals that Carl had a controlling hold over Nancy, making her feel small and manipulated, a revelation that complicates her current fears but also explains the trauma she carries. Amid this emotional turmoil, the mysterious Courtney Parrish—a man who lives high in a large house known as the Lookout—emerges as a central figure whose past remains shrouded in secrecy.

As the investigation unfolds, Chief Coffin suspicions begin to shift away from Nancy, though his officers keep searching for Legler, who has been spotted on Cape Cod. New evidence from Legler suggests the kidnapper lured him to the area to throw suspicion onto the innocent, a counter-move that adds layers of misdirection to the case. Dorothy keeps digging as well, and she uncovers Missy’s other mitten near the Lookout’s front steps, a clue that ties Parrish to the case more directly. The discovery finally points to Parrish’s true involvement and the Lookout as the place where Missy and Michael are being held. The Greek businessman John Kragopoulos, who was in talks to buy the Lookout, realizes Parrish is behind the abduction and confronts him, only to be killed by Parrish with a shovel.

As the truth comes to light, Nancy and Dorothy share a pivotal conversation about the mitten, confirming that Parrish is indeed the kidnapper. Nancy races to the Lookout to rescue Missy and Michael, with Dorothy notifying Clay and Chief Coffin of the plan. When they confront Parrish at the Lookout, Nancy recognizes him as her ex-husband Carl—someone she believed had died—who had been watching her for years, waiting for the moment to grab Missy and Michael. By the time they arrive, Clay, Dr. Knowles, and Chief Coffin join the effort with a growing line of officers.

The rescue climaxes on Widow’s Walk, where Michael has already found Clay. Carl advances on Missy, threatening to drop her into the water below, and Nancy pleads with him. She wrestles Missy free, while Clay ascends, and the three reunited family members are pulled to safety with the help of Dr. Knowles and Chief Coffin. Carl’s grip slips as the guard rail breaks, and he plunges into the water below. Missy clings to the edge, but Clay helps bring her back to safety. Carl’s fall marks the end of the nightmare, and Michael, having followed Clay, joins the family as they descend from the Lookout, grateful that they have survived and that their nightmare is finally over.