Character Relationship Map: Susan's Plan

Characters

• Susan Holland (played by Nastassja Kinski) — protagonist

  Susan is a suburban woman who plots to murder her wealthy husband, Paul Holland, for his life insurance. She recruits her lover, Sam Myers, and hires Bill, Steve, and Bob to execute the scheme. Her pl...

• Bill (played by Michael Biehn) — supporting

  Bill is one of the incompetent criminals hired through Sam Myers to kill Paul Holland and disguise the attack as a failed mugging. Although he and Steve shoot Paul, the victim survives, and both men s...

• Steve (played by Rob Schneider) — supporting

  Steve works with Bill as one of the hired criminals assigned to murder Paul Holland. Their shooting fails because Paul survives, yet Steve continues insisting that Susan Holland pay for the attempted...

• Betty Johnson (played by Lara Flynn Boyle) — supporting

  Betty is a former prostitute recruited by Bob to help isolate Paul Holland in the hospital. She seduces Dr. Chris Stillman so Paul can be moved to a private room, enabling Bob's attack. Betty escapes...

• Bob (played by Dan Aykroyd) — minor

  Bob is a biker hired by Susan Holland to kill Paul Holland after the initial shooting fails. With Betty Johnson's assistance, he reaches Paul's private hospital room and murders him by smothering him....

Canonical Relationships

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

• Bob → Betty Johnson (Professional Recruiter And Accomplice) — Bob recruits Betty for a specific operational role in the hospital plan.

  Bob enlists Betty to seduce the treating doctor and help move the target into a private hospital room.

• Susan Holland → Bob (Professional Hired Assassin) — Bob becomes Susan's second contracted killer.

  Susan hires Bob to kill the recovering target in the hospital after the first attempt fails.

• Susan Holland → Steve (Professional Employer And Hired Killer) — Steve is one of Susan's paid participants in the murder scheme.

  Susan hires Steve, together with Bill, to carry out the planned killing and stage a mugging.

• Susan Holland → Bill (Professional Employer And Hired Killer) — Susan employs Bill for the murder plot, while Bill expects compensation despite failing.

  Susan hires Bill to kill her wealthy husband and make the crime look like a mugging. After the failed shooting, Bill still demands payment.

Story Dynamics

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

• Bill → Steve (Alliance Teammate) — They operate as a criminal team within the murder plot.

  Bill and Steve appear together to shoot the target outside his car and later jointly demand payment from Susan.

Story Analysis

A murder-for-insurance scheme expands through unreliable accomplices before collapsing under police evidence, while Betty escapes the consequences.

Plot Progression

1. The Insurance Scheme — Susan devises a murder plan motivated by a life insurance policy. She hires Bill and Steve to stage the first attack.
2. A Failed First Strike — Bill and Steve shoot the target in a parking lot, but he survives and is hospitalized. Susan responds by escalating instead of abandoning the scheme.
3. The Hospital Trap — Susan hires Bob, who recruits Betty to manipulate the treating doctor. The target is moved to a private room where Bob can act alone.
4. Murder And Exposure — Bob kills the hospitalized target with a pillow, but security cameras record the events. The evidence brings the police to Susan and the other conspirators.
5. The Uneven Reckoning — Bob is killed during an armed escape attempt and Steve dies in the crossfire, while Susan and Bill are imprisoned. Betty reaches Las Vegas and avoids arrest even after being recognized.