The Temp (1993) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A recovering executive investigates a manipulative temporary worker whose hidden agenda turns corporate ambition into a chain of deaths and deception.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A Changed Corporate World

Peter returns from treatment for paranoia and finds his company under new corporate control. A demanding product deadline leaves him vulnerable to the arrival of Kris as a temporary assistant.

Key Events

• Peter Leaves the Clinic — Peter is released after treatment for paranoia and prepares to return to work. Characters: Peter Derns Location: Clinic
• Corporate Takeover Revealed — Peter returns to find the company taken over and threatened by cutbacks. Characters: Peter Derns Location: Food company office
• Urgent Product Report — Peter is ordered to complete a new-product report by the following day. Characters: Peter Derns Location: Food company office
• Kris Joins the Office — Kris arrives as Peter's temporary assistant and quickly solves product problems. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office

Promotions Beside the Dead

Kris proves unusually capable while accidents remove people around the office. Jack and Roger die, and the resulting vacancies advance Peter's career.

Key Events

• Lance Is Injured — Lance is maimed by a paper shredder and takes an extended leave. Characters: Peter Derns Location: Food company office
• Jack Dies in His Car — Jack is found dead from a wasp sting in his stalled car. Characters: Peter Derns, Jack Hartsell, Kris Bolin Location: Marquam Bridge
• Roger Is Found Hanging — Roger is found hanging in his office in an apparent suicide. Characters: Peter Derns, Roger Jasser, Kris Bolin Location: Roger's office
• Promotions Follow Deaths — The successive deaths create vacancies that bring Peter unearned promotions. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office

The Temp's False Identity

Peter rejects Kris's advances and then faces professional sabotage. With Sara's assistance, he discovers contradictions in Kris's work history and education.

Key Events

• Promotions Follow Deaths — The successive deaths create vacancies that bring Peter unearned promotions. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office
• Kris Explains the Photograph — Kris claims the photograph shows her estranged husband and daughter. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office
• Peter Rejects Kris — Peter refuses Kris's sexual advances, and his professional troubles begin soon afterward. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office
• Peter Suspects Sabotage — Peter believes he is being sabotaged and considers Brad, the supervisor, and Kris as suspects. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin, Brad Montroe Location: Food company office
• Sara Helps Investigate — Sara helps Peter investigate Kris's past and her previous employer. Characters: Peter Derns, Sara Meinhold, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office
• Kris's Credentials Collapse — Peter learns Kris's former boss died mysteriously and that she never attended Stanford. Characters: Peter Derns, Sara Meinhold, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office
• Peter Confronts Kris — Peter confronts Kris about her background, but she denies his accusations. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office

The Bakery Trap

Kris appears to rescue Peter from a computer scandal, and both receive promotions. A weekend retreat becomes dangerous when the car brakes are tampered with and violence reaches the bakery.

Key Events

• Peter Confronts Kris — Peter confronts Kris about her background, but she denies his accusations. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office
• Confidential Data Leak — Peter is shunned after someone frames him for leaking confidential company information. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office
• Kris Takes Responsibility — Kris accepts responsibility for the computer error, saving Peter and gaining a promotion. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company office
• Weekend Bakery Retreat — Peter and Kris travel to the bakery after receiving a company retreat assignment. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Road to the company bakery
• Tampered Brakes Discovered — They discover that the brakes on Kris's car have been tampered with. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Road to the company bakery
• Bakery Security Death — Peter follows an emergency message, finds a dead security guard, and sees Kris apparently concussed. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Company bakery
• Peter Is Knocked Unconscious — An unseen assailant strikes Peter over the head, leaving him disoriented. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Company bakery office
• Catwalk Struggle — Peter sees Kris struggling with a colleague and intervenes during the violent confrontation. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Bakery catwalk

The Photograph's Truth

A catwalk struggle ends with a fatal fall and a cryptic reference to the photograph. Peter later recognizes the photograph as a stock image, confronts Kris, and fires her.

Key Events

• Catwalk Struggle — Peter sees Kris struggling with a colleague and intervenes during the violent confrontation. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Bakery catwalk
• Fatal Fall from Catwalk — Peter tries to pull the hanging colleague up, but she falls after uttering, "The picture." Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Bakery catwalk
• Peter Becomes President — Months later, Peter has become company president and begins rebuilding his family relationship. Characters: Peter Derns Location: Food company headquarters
• Identical Photos Revealed — Rosemary explains that the photographs are stock images included with cheap frames. Characters: Peter Derns, Rosemary, Kris Bolin Location: Former executive office
• Kris Is Fired — Peter confronts Kris, fires her, and orders her detained for police escort. Characters: Peter Derns, Kris Bolin Location: Food company headquarters

Story Breakdown

• Peter's Difficult Return — Peter comes back from treatment and finds his professional environment transformed by corporate takeover and cutbacks.
  • Clinic Release — Peter is released after treatment for paranoia and returns to ordinary life.
  • Corporate Takeover — The company changes ownership and imposes financial pressure on its workforce.
• Kris Gains Trust — Kris becomes indispensable by solving problems and presenting herself as loyal, capable, and unusually adaptable.
  • Temporary Assignment — Kris is assigned to help Peter meet an urgent product-report deadline.
  • Helpful Performance — Her quick thinking and product solutions quickly earn Peter's confidence.
• Deaths Bring Promotions — A sequence of workplace accidents and deaths creates vacancies that advance Peter without merit.
  • Office Accidents — Lance is injured by a paper shredder and leaves the workplace for an extended period.
  • Rivals Disappear — Jack dies from a wasp sting and Roger is found hanging in his office.
• Peter Investigates Kris — After rejecting Kris's advances and facing sabotage, Peter begins testing competing explanations for the attacks against him.
  • Suspected Saboteurs — Peter considers Brad, the supervisor, and Kris as possible sources of the professional attacks.
  • Sara's Research — Sara helps uncover Kris's suspicious employment history and false Stanford credentials.
• The Bakery Ambush — Kris appears to protect Peter from a computer scandal before the company retreat becomes a violent trap.
  • Computer Scandal — Kris accepts responsibility for a computer error, preserving Peter's position and earning a promotion.
  • Tampered Brakes — Peter and Kris discover that the brakes on Kris's car have been deliberately tampered with.
  • Catwalk Violence — A bakery confrontation ends with a colleague falling after Peter attempts a rescue.
• The Photograph Exposed — The supposed family photograph becomes the clue that reveals Kris's manipulation, although Peter cannot legally prove her earlier crimes.
  • Stock Image Discovery — Rosemary explains that the frames contained stock photographs rather than personal family pictures.
  • Employment Terminated — Peter fires Kris and arranges for her detention until police escort her away.

Directed by

Tom Holland

Key Cast

• Timothy Hutton — Peter Derns
• Lara Flynn Boyle — Kris Bolin
• Dwight Schultz — Roger Jasser
• Oliver Platt — Jack Hartsell
• Steven Weber — Brad Montroe