Character Relationship Map: The Disappeared

Characters

• Matthew Ryan (played by Harry Treadaway) — protagonist

  Matthew Ryan is the central character, recently released from psychiatric care after his younger brother Tom Ryan disappeared. Haunted by visions and voices, he investigates further disappearances, fo...

• Adrian Ballan (played by Alex Jennings) — supporting

  Adrian Ballan is presented as the parish priest, but the apparent priest is an impostor responsible for abducting Tom Ryan and Sophie Pryor and for burning Shelley Cartwright's flat. Matthew Ryan iden...

• Shelley Cartwright (played by Nikki Amuka-Bird) — supporting

  Shelley Cartwright is a psychic medium who once lived near Matthew Ryan and is approached through a newspaper clipping. Although Matthew initially meets her as if she were alive, he later learns that...

• Amy Tyler (played by Ros Leeming) — supporting

  Amy Tyler is Matthew Ryan's new neighbour who encourages him to seek help from Shelley Cartwright and gives him a newspaper clipping about the medium. Matthew later discovers that Amy had already died...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Shelley Cartwright → Amy Tyler (Unknown Supernatural Parallel) — Both spirits independently influence Matthew's investigation from beyond death.

  Shelley's ghost helps Matthew through the medium's mystery, while Amy's ghost is later revealed to have helped him as well.

• Shelley Cartwright → Adrian Ballan (Conflict Victim And Perpetrator) — Shelley is one of the victims linked to Ballan's violent crimes.

  Matthew's vision shows that the abductor burned Shelley's flat with Shelley and her daughter inside.

• Matthew Ryan → Adrian Ballan (Narrative Antagonist) — Adrian Ballan is connected to the central mystery and becomes Matthew's principal threat.

  Matthew discovers the name Ballan scratched in the burnt flat and concludes that the priest is responsible for the disappearances and the fire.

• Matthew Ryan → Shelley Cartwright (Alliance Supernatural Guide) — Shelley's spirit provides crucial supernatural guidance to Matthew.

  Shelley tells Matthew that the ghost of his missing brother is trying to warn him. After Shelley is revealed to have died in the fire, her ghost conti...

• Matthew Ryan → Amy Tyler (Social Neighbor) — Amy initially interacts with Matthew as his helpful neighbour.

  Amy is introduced as Matthew's new neighbour and gives him a newspaper clipping about Shelley.

Story Analysis

A grieving man follows supernatural clues through guilt, deception, and violence to uncover the truth behind disappearances and lost companions.

Plot Progression

1. Voices After Disappearance — Matthew leaves psychiatric care while still haunted by the disappearance of his younger brother. Amy directs him toward Shelley, whose séance-like guidance deepens the mystery.
2. The Burnt Medium — A drawing appears to identify another missing child, but Matthew discovers that Shelley died in a fire years earlier. The apparent impossibility makes the supernatural investigation more urgent.
3. The Name In Ashes — Matthew escapes an arranged return to psychiatric care and hides in Shelley's ruined flat. A vision connects the fire and the disappearances to Ballan.
4. Murder Beneath The Church — Matthew finds the missing girl alive in the church crypt, but Ballan attacks him. The friend who follows him is killed, forcing Matthew into a violent confrontation with Ballan.
5. Graves And Ghosts — In hospital, Matthew learns that the missing girl survived and that the killer was an impostor. He finally understands Amy's supernatural role and visits both graves.