Disclaimer

Director and writer Renée Knight’s debut novel Disclaimer (2015) is a psychological thriller that is narrated from two alternating perspectives: Catherine Ravenscroft, a documentary filmmaker who receives a mysterious book that retells the story of a traumatic event she has been keeping secret for 20 years; and the book’s author, widower Stephen Brigstocke, who seeks revenge against Catherine. 

In 2024, Disclaimer was adapted by Academy Award–winning director Alfonso Cuaron into an Apple TV miniseries starring Cate Blanchett as Catherine and Kevin Kline as Stephen.

This study guide refers to Harper Perennial’s 2024 reissued paperback edition.

Content Warning: This book contains depictions of sexual assault, drug addiction, and suicide.

Plot Summary

Disclaimer alternates between the perspectives of documentarian Catherine Ravenscroft and widower Stephen Brigstocke. 

In the spring of 2013, Catherine is startled that a book she has just read, The Perfect Stranger, seemingly recounts a mysterious traumatic event from 1993 that she has been keeping secret from her family. Fearful that her secret will be exposed, Catherine obsessively tries to find out who is responsible for the book. She hides her anxieties from her husband, Robert, who thinks she is stressed because of their recent move and their son Nicholas’s new adult independence. Catherine uses her research skills to discover that the author of the book is Stephen, a man with a questionable past.

Stephen’s narrative opens two years prior to Catherine receiving The Perfect Stranger. Stephen has been recently forced into retiring; he occupies himself with a historical writing project. While going through his dead wife Nancy’s belongings, he finds sexually explicit photographs that his 19-year-old son Jonathan took of Catherine in Spain, Nancy’s private notebooks, and a manuscript that depicts Nancy’s understanding of Jonathan’s death: that Catherine and Jonathan had a consensual affair, which is why Jonathan plunged into the sea to rescue five-year-old Nicholas. The find motivates Stephen to seek vengeance. He starts wearing Nancy’s old cardigan and fantasizes that his wife guides his actions. After publishing The Perfect Stranger, Stephen anonymously sends a copy to Catherine and Nicholas. Thrilled at the idea of people hating the fictional Catherine, Stephen also places copies for sale in local shops.

Catherine’s paranoia becomes intense; the book’s ending—which depicts her dying in a train accident—haunts her. Stephen stalks Catherine; his living conditions deteriorate as his obsession with revenge becomes stronger. Catherine leaves a review on the book’s website, acknowledging Stephen’s pain, but Stephen wants her to also take accountability for Jonathan’s death. Eager to make Catherine suffer by ruining her relationships and reputation, Stephen sends Robert copies of the photos and the book. Robert immediately feels betrayed and readily believes that Catherine has been hiding an affair. He refuses to let Catherine explain and kicks her out of the house. Nicholas moves back in with Robert, but conceals that he is using drugs and was fired from his job. Stephen also leaves copies of the book at Catherine’s work. When her colleagues confront her, Catherine throws one of the books at her colleague Simon; in response, HR puts her on sick leave. Robert reaches out to Stephen, who is pleased with Robert’s anger at his wife.

In the immediate aftermath of Jonathan’s death, Stephen and Nancy went to Spain to identify their son’s body. Nancy became inconsolable. Stephen remembers going through Jonathan’s belongings and finding some concerning items—like hardcore pornography. Nancy eventually moved into Jonathan’s apartment and wrote the book. She hid her terminal cancer diagnosis from Stephen. Nancy’s notebooks reveal she also secretly met with Catherine in the years after Jonathan’s death.

Catherine tries to contact Stephen, but he refuses to listen to her story. Stephen continues his revenge plot by making a fake Facebook profile of Jonathan to befriend Nicholas; once the friendship is established, Stephen reveals that Jonathan is dead. Nicholas, burdened and hopeless, overdoses on cocaine. Catherine and Robert find Nicholas in a coma at the hospital and take turns at his bedside. Stephen visits the hospital and attempts to unplug Nicholas’s life support, but Catherine stops him.

Catherine breaks into Stephen’s house and forces him to listen to her side of the story. She recounts the true events of the 1993 vacation. Catherine was trying to enjoy her time with toddler Nicholas after Robert left early, and she took no notice of Jonathan. Jonathan stalked Catherine and secretly took photos of her for days. Then, he followed her to her hotel room, forced her to take the explicit photos, and then raped her while Nicholas slept in the adjoining room. The day after the assault, Nicholas drifted out to sea in an inflatable dinghy, and Jonathan saved him, drowning in the process. Catherine saw Jonathan’s death as justice, so she decided to tell no one about the incident.

Stephen believes Catherine’s story. He reflects on the fantasies he created about his wife and son. Stephen tells Robert the truth, and both men wallow in guilt. Stephen writes a will that names Catherine as sole beneficiary of his estate, and then dies by suicide. Stephen’s will includes a hand-written apology and an undeveloped negative that shows Nicholas witnessing his mother’s assault. Nicholas insists he doesn’t remember a thing. Catherine quits her job and divorces Robert. Nicholas goes to rehab. Catherine and Robert help Nicholas with his recovery, seeing the newfound honesty in their relationship as an opportunity for a fresh start.