Ten years after escaping the fanatical cult that murdered her twin, an aspiring actress uses a fake identity to star as both herself and her sister in a rock opera about the cult's demise.

(feature spec)

At fifteen, Zoe escaped the bizarre Appalachian cult where she was born and raised and accused the group’s leader, Abram Meadows, of murdering her twin sister, Ava. Zoe’s testimony sent Meadows to death row despite an appalling lack of evidence, including the fact that Ava’s body was never found. Abram’s defense at trial was that he couldn’t have killed Ava, as she never existed in the first place.

Ten years later, LA rock band Leaf and Limb creates Hemlock Chorus, a 70’s style “rock opera” about the Meadows case. Written by the group’s singer, Samuel, who hails from the same Tennessee town as the cult, the show tells the story from Abram’s perspective and denounces his murder trial as a witch-hunt. Abram, meanwhile, continues to languish on death row. His execution is set for just a few months after the show’s premier.

In the intervening decade, Zoe has become an aspiring actress living under a new identity. When Zoe learns of Hemlock Chorus her astoundingly lifelike audition lands her the roles of both herself and her sister, although her true self remains hidden.

The show is a runaway success, but as the band’s fame increases so too does public sympathy for Meadows. As support for a new trial grows, Zoe is drawn into a fight for her own survival when the cult discovers her new identity. All the while we learn more about the disturbing truth of what really happened in those Appalachian backwoods, and Samuel’s true motives for Hemlock Chorus’ creation.