Character Relationship Map: Double Exposure

Characters

• John McClure (played by Ron Perlman) — protagonist

  John McClure is a private detective hired by Roger to investigate whether Maria is having an affair. After finding evidence of the affair, he agrees to help Roger arrange the lover's murder, asking fo...

• Roger Putnam (played by Ian Buchanan) — supporting

  Roger Putnam is Maria's husband, whose unstable marriage is marked by his suspicion and possessiveness. Convinced that Maria may be cheating when she returns late from the gym, he hires John McClure t...

• Linda Mack (played by Dedee Pfeiffer) — supporting

  Linda is Maria and Roger's mutual friend and a colleague of Roger and Maria. She joins Maria for gym workouts on Tuesday and Thursday nights, occasions that fuel Roger's suspicions when Maria comes ho...

• Maria Putnam (played by Jennifer Gatti) — supporting

  Maria Putnam is Roger's wife, unhappy with his obsessiveness and possessiveness. She goes to the gym with Linda on Tuesday and Thursday nights, but her late returns lead Roger to suspect an affair. Jo...

• Maria's Lover (played by Dean Scofield) — supporting

  Maria's lover is the person Roger suspects she is seeing and the target of Roger's plan to have him killed. John McClure presents Roger with evidence that Maria is having an affair, then agrees to arr...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Roger Putnam → Linda Mack (Professional Colleagues And Mutual Friends) — They work at the same company; Linda discovers that Roger has been skimming money from it.

  The plot describes Linda as Roger's colleague and as a mutual friend of Roger and Maria.

• John McClure → Maria Putnam (Professional Investigator And Subject) — McClure investigates Maria's conduct on behalf of her husband; during his botched attempt to shoot her lover, he hits Maria instead.

  McClure is hired to investigate Maria and brings Roger evidence that she is having an affair.

• Roger Putnam → John McClure (Professional Client And Private Detective) — McClure investigates Maria for Roger, reports evidence of the affair, and is then asked to help arrange a killing.

  Roger hires McClure to find out whether Maria is cheating and with whom.

• Maria Putnam → Maria's Lover (Romantic Lovers) — Maria is involved in an affair with the person Roger wants killed.

  McClure brings Roger evidence that Maria is having an affair, and Roger identifies her lover as the target of his murder plan.

• Roger Putnam → Maria Putnam (Family Husband And Wife) — Their marriage is strained by Roger's possessiveness and suspicion, and by Maria's unhappiness with his behavior.

  The plot identifies Roger as Maria's husband and describes their marriage as unstable.

Story Dynamics

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

• Maria Putnam → Linda Mack (Social Friend And Gym Companion) — Linda accompanies Maria to the gym, and their outings become a source of Roger's suspicions when Maria returns late.

  Linda is described as Maria and Roger's mutual friend, and Maria goes to the gym with Linda on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

• John McClure → Maria's Lover (Conflict Would-Be Killer And Target) — McClure plans to carry out the killing himself, but his attempt goes wrong and Maria is shot instead.

  McClure agrees to help Roger arrange the lover's murder and shoots blindly into the hotel room, intending to hit the lover.

• Roger Putnam → Maria's Lover (Conflict Intended Killer And Target) — Roger makes Maria's lover the target of a planned killing because of the affair.

  After receiving evidence of the affair, Roger wants Maria's lover killed and asks McClure to help.

• Maria's Lover → Maria Putnam (lover)

Story Analysis

A suspicious husband hires a detective to investigate an affair, setting off a murder attempt that goes wrong and leads to forensic inquiry.

Plot Progression

1. Suspicion at Home — Roger's possessiveness and Maria's unhappiness strain their marriage. Her late returns from the gym with Linda make Roger suspect an affair.
2. Secrets at Work — Roger hires McClure to investigate Maria. At the same time, Linda discovers that Roger has been skimming money from their company.
3. A Murder for Hire — McClure presents evidence of Maria's affair, and Roger asks him to help kill her lover. McClure asks for money while concealing that he intends to do the job himself.
4. The Wrong Person Shot — McClure fires blindly into a hotel room, but the attempt goes wrong and Maria is shot instead of her lover. The shooting shifts the story toward a homicide investigation.
5. Forensic Findings — A young homicide investigator and a forensic scientist enter the case. Analysis of minute traces helps reveal the identities of the killers and the lover.