Documentary about John Darwin, who faked his own death in a canoeing accident off the coast of Hartlepool and then started a new life with his wife Anne in Panama.
We meet John and Anne Darwin, a couple plagued by debt. Facing bankruptcy John decides to fake his own death using his canoe, much to the horror of his wife. They successfully pull it off and John goes into hiding while Anne consoles her sons.
John successfully applies for a passport to create a new identity, while forcing Anne to demand an inquest into his death so they can get the insurance pay out. Miraculously it works and the cheques arrive. They plan a new life together in Panama.
John has had enough of being dead and returns to England to declare he is suffering from amnesia. He is reunited with his sons. Journalists hunt down Anne in Panama and the story starts to unravel as a photograph of the two of them emerges.
Anne and John are interviewed by the police – the truth emerges. The case goes to trial where Anne pleads not guilty on the grounds of marital coercion. Their traumatised sons initially refuse contact but come to find forgiveness for their mother.
