Two Lives of Colby Fletcher

In “The Two Lives of Colby Fletcher,” ambitious chemist Colby Fletcher builds his entire life around a single scheme: fake his own death in a laboratory explosion, let his wife collect the $100,000 insurance payout, then reunite with her somewhere far from East Riverton. To pull it off, he carefully cultivates a reputation for dangerous experimental work, pressures his wealthy backers into temporary high-value insurance, and begins hunting for the perfect patsy—an unknown young man who could die in the blast and be mistaken for him. As the deadline on his temporary coverage ticks down, panic drives Colby to reckless improvisation: he runs down a stranger on the highway and brings him to the lab as a last-minute substitute. But the plan collapses when the man reveals he’s a fugitive and tries to steal Colby’s car. While he’s dragged outside by police who recognize the stolen vehicle, the phone call Colby wired to trigger the explosion goes through—detonating the lab and killing only the imposter inside. With his car impounded, his alibi shattered, and the insurance payout now impossible, Colby watches the life he planned so meticulously blow apart in an instant.