Two despairing strangers form a suicide pact, but an increasingly absurd journey repeatedly confronts them with the complications of living.
Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases
Cliffside Interrupted
A grieving woman and a suicidal writer meet at a cliff. Her accidental fall interrupts his attempt and creates their first connection.
Key Events
Two Lives in Despair — A vulnerable woman idealizes her dead husband while an angry writer feels unable to live or write.
Location: Unspecified
The Writer Seeks Death — The writer comes to a cliff intending to shoot himself.
Location: Cliff edge
A Fall Among Flowers — While picking flowers, the woman accidentally falls from the cliff.
Location: Cliffside
The Cry Interrupts Suicide — Her cry for help interrupts the writer immediately before he pulls the trigger.
Location: Cliff edge
Strangers Part — The two lost souls separate without becoming acquainted.
Location: Cliffside
The Rescuer Is Identified — The woman discovers the identity of the mysterious person who rescued her.
Location: Unspecified
Despair Entwined
The woman identifies her mysterious rescuer, and their paths repeatedly cross. Her discovery about her dead husband pushes her into despair.
Key Events
The Rescuer Is Identified — The woman discovers the identity of the mysterious person who rescued her.
Location: Unspecified
Repeated Suicide Attempts — Whenever the writer tries to kill himself, the woman unintentionally prevents him.
Location: Various locations
Despair Changes Hands — The woman eventually falls into despair and begins considering suicide herself.
Location: Unspecified
The Husband's Secret — She discovers a devastating secret about her dead husband.
Location: Unspecified
Psychiatric Evaluation — Both are admitted to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Location: Hospital
A Pact Is Formed — At the hospital, the two decide to form a suicide pact.
Location: Hospital
The Suicide Pact
Both are admitted for psychiatric evaluation and form a pact. They escape the hospital and begin considering possible methods of death.
Key Events
A Pact Is Formed — At the hospital, the two decide to form a suicide pact.
Location: Hospital
Escape from the Hospital — The pair escape the hospital together to pursue their pact.
Location: Hospital
Choosing a Method — They consider several methods, including electrocution, poison, and guns.
Location: On the road
Arguments Over Death — They cannot agree on which suicide method to choose.
Location: On the road
The Niagara Idea — The woman proposes Niagara Falls after remembering a childhood near-drowning as a lovely experience.
Location: On the road
Road to Niagara
The pair choose Niagara Falls after rejecting or debating other methods. Their journey becomes an absurd and perilous test of the pact.
Key Events
The Niagara Idea — The woman proposes Niagara Falls after remembering a childhood near-drowning as a lovely experience.
Location: On the road
The Road to Niagara — The pair set out together on their suicidal quest toward Niagara Falls.
Location: Road
Absurd Roadside Complications — Their journey becomes complicated by absurd twists and unexpected turns.
Location: Road
Peril on the Journey — The travelers encounter perilous obstacles while continuing their quest.
Location: Road
Life Tests the Pact — The difficult journey challenges their shared commitment to die together.
Location: Road toward Niagara Falls
The Uncertain Destination — The story closes on their dangerous, darkly comic suicidal quest.
Location: Niagara Falls route
Story Breakdown
Despairing Beginnings — The story introduces two isolated people whose grief and creative failure make death seem preferable to life.
Idealized Dead Husband — A vulnerable woman remains emotionally attached to the memory of her dead husband.
Failed Writer — An angry writer cannot repeat his first novel's success and wants to die.
Cliffside Encounter — An accidental fall interrupts an attempted suicide and creates the first bond between the two strangers.
Accidental Fall — The woman falls while picking flowers near the cliff.
Interrupted Trigger — Her cry for help stops the writer just before he pulls the trigger.
Unwanted Connection — Their paths cross again after the woman discovers the identity of her mysterious rescuer.
Rescuer Identified — The woman finds out who saved her at the cliff.
Foiled Attempts — She repeatedly prevents the writer from completing suicide, unintentionally.
Shared Collapse — The woman's own despair intensifies after a devastating revelation about her dead husband.
Husband's Secret — A hidden truth destroys the idealized image of her dead husband.
Psychiatric Admission — Both are admitted to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Escape and Pact — The two turn their shared despair into a joint plan and escape institutional supervision.
Suicide Agreement — They agree to end their lives together.
Hospital Escape — They leave the hospital to carry out their pact.
Roadside Death Quest — The pair debate methods, choose Niagara Falls, and encounter increasingly absurd dangers on the road.
Methods Rejected — They consider electrocution, poison, and guns but cannot agree.
Niagara Destination — A childhood near-drowning memory inspires the plan to die at Niagara Falls.
Dead by Monday is a darkly comic tale of love and death... but not necessarily in that order. Julie is a sweet, vulnerable young woman who lacks confidence and is obsessed with the memory of her dead husband whom she idealizes. Alex is an angry writer. Talented but unable to repeat the success of his first novel, he has nothing left to say. Or live for. He just wants to die. Fate introduces these two lost souls at the edge of a cliff. While picking flowers Julie accidentally falls off. Alex, who has come to blow his brains out, is interrupted by her cry for help, just before he pulls the trigger.
