Gone Girl

Amy accompanies Maureen and her friends to the plasma donation center. They have been giving plasma to earn a little bit of money for years. Amy says she is terrified of blood and faints. The other women, including Mo, take care of her. Nick has disappeared and doesn’t come home until 11 p.m. that night. He lies when Amy asks where he was.

Go confronts Nick about his affair. She never suspected, and their relationship is damaged by her realization that he didn’t trust her enough to tell her about it. She begins to doubt his innocence, since she does know how unhappy he was in his marriage.

Nick dreams of Amy crawling across the kitchen floor toward him with a bloody head.

He returns to his home. Go calls him and tells him he needs to watch the Ellen Abbott Live show. Ellen Abbott is interviewing the flirty volunteer, Shawna Kelly, and his grinning face appears ridiculous pressed up against the woman’s face. Nick’s reputation is destroyed as Ellen Abbott interviews Shawna, and she reveals that Nick was calm and friendly during the search for Amy’s body. Ellen reveals other facts that seem to damn Nick: he bought The Bar with Amy’s money; she disappeared on their fifth wedding anniversary; their house is being torn apart; and Amy is Amazing Amy. The media onslaught begins, and Nick is being convicted by public opinion.

In a rage, Nick drives to St. Louis to talk to Amy’s ex-boyfriend and stalker—Desi Collings, who tried to kill himself when Amy broke up with him. Amy throws away his letters unopened.

Desi is extremely wealthy, handsome and trustworthy-looking. He lives in a mansion. Desi welcomes Nick in and tells him how sorry he is about Amy. He appears to answer Nick’s questions honestly, but there is something odd about his manner and the way he talks about Amy. He seems proprietary and possessive, and he still has a picture of Amy, taken of them when they were dating, in his living room. Desi asks if Amy’s father has an alibi. He denies that he’s been stalking Amy, or that he tried to kill himself when Amy broke up with him. Desi’s mother, Jacqueline, interrupts and tells Nick that if he wants to talk to Desi again, he should contact their family lawyer. She looks exactly like an older version of Amy.

Suddenly, after a year of Nick ignoring her and being in a bad mood, he is romantic and caring, He orders her a special treat from New York City, and they have sex. Amy is suspicious when she finds Nick going over their financial papers. She fears that he is only being nice to her because he wants something from her, such as more money for The Bar.