All the Dangerous Things

Content Warning: All the Dangerous Things depicts emotional abuse, miscarriage, postpartum psychosis, and child death. It also references drug abuse and suicide.

Isabelle Drake has not slept in 364 nights, as she has grappled with the mystery of her son Mason’s disappearance.

Isabelle shakes herself out of a daze, as someone tells her that it is almost time for her to give a keynote speech. She ruminates on her relationship with coffee and need for familiarity before she follows an assistant to a large auditorium. A man on stage introduces her to the attendees of TrueCrimeCon, and she walks to the podium. Isabelle looks at the crowd of mostly older white women and studies t-shirts that blend pop iconography with true crime references. Although disgusted at the enthusiasm she sees, she begins her speech.

Isabelle dozes in her seat as her plane prepares to depart. She asks the flight attendant for soda water as she surveys her fellow travelers, trying to guess where they are from. She reflects on her speech, which she engineered to be attractive to audiences while knowing she cannot be too honest about her pain. Isabelle begins to spike her soda water with vodka when her seatmate, a man with a tote bag from TrueCrimeCon, arrives.