Relative Atonement

In 1980, on Mallorca, the evidence of Jocelyn Emery results in the brothers Jeremy and Russell Auerback being falsely found guilty of murder. They are sentenced to 30 years in prison. Russell dies of AIDS. Jeremy is released after 18 years. Seeking atonement he goes looking for Jocelyn. Max Rymer, a carpenter, receives an unexpected tax demand for 150 thousand pounds, supposedly owed by his late wife from the sale of her company. Max has no knowledge of this, nor does he have 150 thousand pounds. When he investigates the company he discovers that it was previously owned by a Jocelyn Emery. His initial suspicion that Josie and Jocelyn were one and the same are soon disproved and he too goes looking for Jocelyn. The lives of Jeremy and Max become inextricably linked. When the enigmatic Jocelyn finally reveals herself, Max is placated and given a dissembled version of the truth. Whereas Jeremy not only learns the reason behind her duplicity but also that revenge can be a double-edged sword.