Minor Detail

Synopsis

Minor Detail begins during the summer of 1949, one year after the war that the Palestinians mourn as the Nakba - the catastrophe that led to the displacement and expulsion of more than 700,000 people - and the Israelis celebrate as the War of Independence. Israeli soldiers capture and rape a young Palestinian woman, and kill and bury her in the sand. Many years later, a woman in Ramallah becomes fascinated to the point of obsession with this 'minor detail' of history. A haunting meditation on war, violence and memory, Minor Detail cuts to the heart of the Palestinian experience of dispossession, life under occupation, and the persistent difficulty of piecing together a narrative in the face of ongoing erasure and disempowerment.

Summary

Chapter 1: The Missing Girl

* Introduction of Detective Sarah Collins and her team investigating the disappearance of 13-year-old Laura Hale.
* Police discover a chilling detail: Laura's school uniform is found hanging on a tree branch.

Chapter 2: The Eyewitness

* A young boy claims to have seen a man chasing Laura on the day she vanished.
* The boy's description leads detectives to a suspect, 35-year-old Peter Wallace.

Chapter 3: The Suspect

* Wallace is brought in for questioning and denies involvement in Laura's disappearance.
* However, his shaky alibi and inconsistencies in his story raise suspicions.

Chapter 4: The Search

* Detective Collins and her team conduct a thorough search of Wallace's home and vehicle.
* They uncover disturbing evidence, including a hidden compartment in Wallace's car that contained a bloodied piece of Laura's uniform.

Chapter 5: The Breakthrough

* A DNA test confirms the blood on the uniform belongs to Laura.
* Wallace's defense crumbles, and he confesses to kidnapping and murdering the young girl.

Chapter 6: The Conviction

* Wallace is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
* Laura's family finds closure, but the detectives are left with the lingering question of what happened to her body.

Chapter 7: The Unresolved

* Years later, a new lead emerges when a construction worker discovers human remains on Wallace's former property.
* DNA analysis confirms the remains are those of Laura.

Chapter 8: The Aftermath

* The discovery of Laura's body brings some solace to her family.
* However, the investigation leaves an enduring legacy, highlighting both the diligence of detectives and the devastating impact of crime on its victims.