The Last Trip Summary, Characters and Themes | Kiersten Modglin

The Last Trip by Kiersten Modglin is a psychological thriller that explores the dangerous cost of secrets, obsession, and control through the lens of an expectant mother entangled in a relationship with a man hiding a terrifying double life.  When Sadie, heavily pregnant and eager for one last getaway before motherhood, agrees to a remote vacation with her partner Cal, she’s unaware that this seemingly relaxing trip will spiral into a nightmare.

Through shifting perspectives and haunting flashbacks, the novel uncovers the layers of betrayal and manipulation that threaten not only Sadie’s peace but also her survival.  It is a chilling story about reclaiming agency and exposing the truth in the face of calculated deceit.

Summary

Sadie’s story begins with an omen: on Friday the 13th, she breaks a mirror while preparing for a trip with her partner Cal.  Though it seems like a minor mishap, it sets an unsettling tone.

Soon after, Cal reveals a life-changing secret: he has received a message from a young woman named Janelle who claims to be his daughter, the result of a teenage relationship he never told Sadie about.  Cal insists he had no prior knowledge of the child, whose mother only told her about him on her deathbed.

Sadie, pregnant and emotionally vulnerable, is shaken but decides not to let the revelation ruin their long-awaited babymoon.

As they travel to a secluded mountain cabin, emotional distance replaces excitement.  The quiet between them is thick with unease.

In this tense setting, they receive an unexpected visit from an elderly couple, Norma and George, who bring a gift basket and linger too long.  Their strange behavior and repeated appearances, especially their fixation on Sadie’s pregnancy, unsettle her.

The sight of them watching the cabin from the woods increases her sense of paranoia, though Cal remains dismissive.

Cal’s internal thoughts offer a disturbing parallel narrative.  He recalls first meeting Sadie—not as a stranger, as she believes, but as a student in his lecture hall.

Drawn to her confidence and beauty, he approached her at a coffee shop under a false identity, setting in motion a relationship founded on deceit.  Despite knowing the risks of pursuing a student, Cal continued, ultimately engineering the relationship to suit his own desires.

When Sadie became pregnant, it seemed to fulfill his vision of a perfect life, even as he ignored her hesitations and boundaries.

As the story moves forward, Sadie tries to regain control by suggesting they invite Janelle to meet them during their vacation.  Cal agrees, and Janelle arrives—but she is no stranger.

Sadie recognizes her immediately, though her identity remains withheld.  Tension builds rapidly from this point as Sadie becomes more suspicious of her surroundings and her partner’s behavior.

Her fears are reinforced by Cal’s controlling tendencies, subtle gaslighting, and the eerie sense that someone is watching.

Janelle’s arrival disrupts any sense of peace.  Her friendly demeanor hides something darker.

She asks probing questions and seems to know too much.  As Sadie navigates her instincts and tries to protect her unborn child, it becomes clear that Janelle is not a mere stranger reaching out to meet her father.

Flashbacks from Cal’s past continue to reveal disturbing truths: Janelle, whose real name is Ellie, was once romantically involved with him.  When she refused his proposal, Cal manipulated their relationship, tampered with contraception in an attempt to force a pregnancy, and ultimately turned to Sadie to achieve the domestic life Ellie denied him.

Sadie’s psychological unraveling is slow but steady.  Her once steady trust in Cal fractures completely when she uncovers that Cal and Janelle are not just involved—they are already married.

The revelation comes after Sadie follows Cal to a city apartment, where she confronts them both.  Janelle confirms the worst with a chilling declaration: “He’s my husband.

” The betrayal is comprehensive.  Cal’s plan all along had been to use Sadie as a surrogate.

He and Janelle, unable to conceive, had manipulated and monitored Sadie with the intention of taking her child.  Every word, every gesture of affection, was a calculated move in their twisted scheme.

Cal’s internal monologue cements his role as a predator.  He rationalizes everything—his lies, his manipulation, his deception—as part of a greater vision of a family.

Even Janelle’s participation is framed as loyalty rather than complicity.  He micromanaged Sadie’s diet, orchestrated the trip to an isolated location, and maintained an illusion of love, all while hiding the horrifying truth of his intentions.

As Sadie pieces the puzzle together, she begins to reclaim her strength.  Her survival instincts sharpen.

Janelle, or Ellie, experiences her own crisis of conscience.  Guilt overtakes her, and she turns against Cal.

The two women, previously pitted against one another by Cal’s machinations, begin to align.  This shift leads to the story’s climactic confrontation.

When Cal attempts to physically overpower Sadie in a violent rage, Ellie intervenes.  In the aftermath of the attack, Sadie gives birth, her body and spirit marked by trauma.

But the story doesn’t end with survival alone.  Cal survives the assault and is hospitalized, leaving a threat still looming.

Sadie, understanding that the legal system may not protect her and her child from further harm, visits Cal in the hospital.  In a moment charged with quiet finality, she kills him.

The act is not driven by revenge, but by necessity.  In ending his life, she ensures her daughter’s safety and her own autonomy.

The final pages are ones of rebirth.  Sadie names her daughter Amelia, a tribute to her own mother and a symbol of resilience.

Though she is haunted by what she’s endured, she steps into motherhood with a fierce commitment to protect and raise her daughter free from the shadows of Cal’s abuse.  Ellie, too, begins her own path to redemption, having helped save the woman who was once her rival.

The Last Trip closes on a sober but powerful note, emphasizing the lengths to which survivors may go to reclaim their lives from those who try to control them.  It is a story about the danger of unchecked manipulation, the power of instinct, and the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child in the face of profound betrayal.

Characters

Sadie

Sadie is the emotional and moral core of The Last Trip, a character whose journey is marked by betrayal, resilience, and ultimately, transformation.  At the outset, she is portrayed as a hopeful and excited woman, preparing for the birth of her first child and looking forward to a peaceful babymoon with her partner Calvin.

However, her sense of stability is shattered when Calvin reveals that a woman named Janelle—whom Sadie will later realize she knows by another name—claims to be his daughter.  This revelation opens the floodgates to deeper deceptions and triggers Sadie’s gradual awakening to the danger that surrounds her.

Sadie begins the story deeply trusting, slightly naïve, and emotionally invested in her relationship.  Yet, as events unfold and secrets unravel, she evolves into a vigilant, intuitive, and courageous woman.

Her pregnancy heightens her vulnerability but also sharpens her instincts, compelling her to question what lies beneath Calvin’s polished exterior.  Her arc is one of empowerment.

From quietly tolerating emotional manipulation and gaslighting to taking decisive, violent action to protect herself and her unborn daughter, Sadie embodies a journey of reclaiming autonomy.  Her ultimate decision to kill Calvin is not impulsive but calculated, rooted in the realization that justice, safety, and survival cannot be entrusted to broken systems.

In doing so, Sadie not only asserts control over her narrative but also lays the foundation for a future in which her daughter, Amelia, can grow free of the shadows cast by a dangerous man.

Calvin (Cal)

Calvin is a chilling portrait of manipulation, control, and obsession masquerading as love.  On the surface, he appears to be a devoted partner, eager to build a future with Sadie.

However, flashbacks and current actions reveal a man driven by a pathological need to impose order and fulfill a rigid life plan.  His initial attraction to Sadie is tainted by dishonesty—he deceives her about his identity and uses emotional coercion to mold their relationship to his liking.

His obsession with fatherhood becomes disturbingly apparent when he sabotages contraception with Ellie (Janelle) and, after she proves infertile, shifts his focus to Sadie as a surrogate.  Calvin is not merely a manipulator; he is a predator who constructs elaborate lies, isolates his victims, and uses charm as a mask for coercion.

His duality—tender partner in public, calculating abuser in private—makes him a formidable and terrifying antagonist.  Even when confronted with the unraveling of his lies, Calvin refuses to relinquish control, resorting to physical violence to maintain his power.

His calculated cruelty, rationalized by a delusional belief in family and legacy, underscores the novel’s themes of reproductive autonomy and domestic entrapment.  Calvin’s arc does not evolve—rather, it decays, exposing the rot beneath his carefully cultivated exterior.

His death at Sadie’s hands is not just retribution but the narrative’s necessary purge of toxicity and control.

Janelle / Ellie

Janelle, whose real name is Ellie, is a complex figure caught between complicity and redemption.  Initially introduced as the mysterious daughter from Calvin’s past, she enters the narrative under the guise of Janelle and subtly begins integrating herself into Sadie’s life.

Her demeanor oscillates between friendly curiosity and covert intimidation, creating an atmosphere of psychological unease.  As the layers peel back, it becomes clear that Ellie was once romantically involved with Calvin and is, in fact, his wife—a revelation that destabilizes both Sadie and the reader.

Ellie’s infertility becomes a cruel twist in Calvin’s plans, rendering her vulnerable to his manipulations and leading her to participate in the deception involving Sadie.  Yet, Ellie is not a one-dimensional villain.

Her internal conflict and eventual shift toward protecting Sadie suggest a woman grappling with guilt, grief, and the realization of her own victimization.  When she strikes Calvin to save Sadie, Ellie enacts a redemptive act that severs her psychological tie to the man who exploited her.

By standing with Sadie, Ellie transitions from an accomplice in a dark plan to an ally in survival.  Her transformation is subtle but significant, underscoring the novel’s emphasis on female solidarity and the possibility of moral reckoning.

Though deeply scarred, Ellie’s role in Calvin’s downfall suggests that redemption is not only possible but essential in the aftermath of trauma.

Norma and George

Norma and George, the elderly couple who appear at the mountain cabin with a gift basket, represent a sinister undercurrent of surveillance and complicity in The Last Trip.  Their presence is jarring and intrusive, their interest in Sadie’s pregnancy too keen to be benign.

They function as eerie guardians of Calvin’s plans, reinforcing the sense that Sadie is being watched and manipulated on all fronts.  Though they occupy relatively brief portions of the narrative, their symbolic presence is significant.

They personify the silent enablers of coercion—the neighbors who look the other way, the bystanders complicit in the maintenance of dangerous power structures.  Their unsettling behavior amplifies Sadie’s sense of isolation, contributing to the psychological horror of her entrapment.

The lingering question of their exact role in Calvin’s scheme remains ambiguous, but their alignment with his interests is clear.  They add a layer of dread to the narrative, serving as reminders that threats can be subtle, hidden in seemingly harmless figures, and that complicity often wears a friendly face.

Amelia

Amelia, Sadie’s newborn daughter, may be absent for most of the novel, but she serves as the narrative’s emotional and symbolic anchor.  Her impending birth shapes Sadie’s every decision and amplifies the stakes of the unfolding drama.

Amelia represents not only new life but also a break from the toxic lineage of deception and control that Calvin tried to impose.  In naming her after her mother, Sadie reclaims her generational strength and affirms a maternal identity rooted in protection, truth, and freedom.

Though she never speaks or acts, Amelia’s presence is profoundly felt, guiding Sadie toward empowerment and ultimately catalyzing the act of radical survival that ends the novel.  She is the future Sadie fights for—pure, untainted, and full of possibility.

Through Amelia, The Last Trip finds its note of hope amid the horror, reminding readers that even in the darkest circumstances, the will to protect and the promise of renewal endure.

Themes

Control and Coercion in Intimate Relationships

Control is not overtly violent in The Last Trip—at least not at first.  It’s subtle, insidious, and embedded in behaviors that masquerade as care or affection.

Calvin’s manipulation of Sadie begins before their relationship even officially starts, when he pretends to be a stranger instead of revealing that he is her professor.  This initial lie isn’t just a matter of omission—it reflects his calculated desire to manufacture a dynamic in which he holds power.

As their relationship progresses, the lies continue: Calvin proposes with urgency, exerts emotional pressure when she hesitates, and hides the existence of a supposed daughter only to later use that narrative as a ruse to bring another woman, Janelle, back into his life.  What makes the control particularly horrifying is how it is cloaked in the language of domestic life and fatherhood.

Calvin treats Sadie not as a partner but as a means to an end—specifically, as a vessel for the child he desperately wants but couldn’t have with Janelle.  His obsession with constructing a perfect family structure drives him to sabotage contraception and manipulate two women into unknowingly cooperating with his reproductive goals.

These acts go beyond selfishness or dishonesty; they are a fundamental violation of Sadie’s autonomy and a chilling reflection of how coercion can exist within seemingly loving relationships.  The manipulation escalates into physical violence, revealing that Calvin’s need for control is ultimately inseparable from harm.

His meticulous planning—from dietary regulation to the selection of a remote cabin—highlights a long-standing pattern of domination masked as devotion, underscoring the terrifying reality that abuse often comes in the form of quiet control before it erupts into overt cruelty.

Identity, Deception, and Reclamation

Throughout The Last Trip, questions of identity are not just personal—they are weaponized.  Calvin’s entire relationship with Sadie is built on a false identity, beginning with his failure to disclose that he is her professor.

Later, his elaborate lies extend to fabricating a story about a long-lost daughter to cover up his double life.  Janelle, too, adopts a new identity when she arrives at the cabin under an alias, masking her true role as Calvin’s wife.

These layers of deception aren’t simply about hiding facts—they’re about reshaping reality to suit Calvin’s desires.  Sadie, on the other hand, is in the process of forming a new identity: that of a mother.

But this transition is constantly destabilized by the lies surrounding her, and by the realization that her pregnancy was never truly hers to control.  As the web of lies unravels, Sadie must come to terms not only with the betrayal but with how her understanding of herself has been shaped by a man who never saw her as an equal.

Her eventual reclaiming of agency—refusing to surrender her child, leaving the cabin, and confronting Calvin—is also a reclamation of her identity.  She is no longer a passive participant in someone else’s narrative but an active agent in her own.

When she chooses to confront Calvin in the hospital and ends his life, it is not just an act of revenge but a final severing from the false identity he tried to impose upon her.  In its place, she establishes herself as a mother defined not by manipulation or fear but by fierce autonomy and protection.

Female Solidarity and Moral Ambiguity

One of the most compelling dynamics in The Last Trip is the complicated relationship between Sadie and Janelle.  Initially, Janelle appears to be a threat—an interloper who disrupts Sadie’s world under false pretenses.

But as the story unfolds, their connection becomes one of reluctant solidarity.  Both women have been manipulated by the same man, both are victims of different facets of Calvin’s control, and both ultimately reject his influence.

Janelle’s evolution from complicit partner to active protector marks a shift not just in her moral compass but in the narrative’s emotional weight.  Her decision to save Sadie from a violent assault—and later support her in raising the baby—is an act of redemption, but it doesn’t erase her earlier complicity.

This layered portrayal of female solidarity is particularly striking because it acknowledges the complexity of moral ambiguity.  Janelle’s choices are not clean or easy, and neither is Sadie’s path to forgiveness.

Their alliance isn’t about instant sisterhood; it is born from necessity, trauma, and the realization that survival sometimes demands difficult alignments.  In a world where institutions fail to protect women from coercive partners, this theme speaks to the importance of collective resilience, even when it emerges from fractured beginnings.

The solidarity between Sadie and Janelle serves not only as a turning point in the plot but as a statement on how shared suffering can lead to mutual empowerment, even in the aftermath of betrayal.

Bodily Autonomy and Reproductive Agency

Sadie’s pregnancy is positioned at the heart of The Last Trip, not as a source of joy alone but as a focal point of control, fear, and eventual empowerment.  What should be a deeply personal and consensual journey becomes a battleground for power.

Calvin’s manipulation begins with sabotaging condoms to ensure Sadie’s pregnancy, weaponizing her body to fulfill a fantasy he could not realize with Janelle.  His actions represent a fundamental assault on her bodily autonomy, reducing her to a means to an end.

The horror is compounded by the fact that Sadie is kept in the dark for so long—she believes her pregnancy is a shared joy, not a carefully orchestrated outcome.  The intrusion of neighbors like Norma and George, who show inappropriate interest in her pregnancy, adds to the sense that her body is not her own but rather something to be watched, studied, and eventually claimed.

As Sadie uncovers the layers of deceit, her response is not to retreat but to reclaim authority over her own narrative.  Her decisions—to leave the cabin, to fight back, to refuse to give up her baby—are all acts of bodily and emotional reclamation.

The birth of her daughter, Amelia, is not just the conclusion of a pregnancy but the beginning of a life that Sadie insists on defining for herself and her child.  In doing so, the novel underscores the importance of reproductive agency and the right to make decisions about one’s body without coercion, even when reclaiming that right requires extreme and morally fraught actions.

Survival and Justice Beyond Institutional Boundaries

The institutions meant to protect individuals from harm—laws, medical systems, societal norms—are conspicuously absent or ineffective throughout The Last Trip.  Sadie is isolated in a cabin, far from help, and the people around her either don’t believe her or are active participants in her manipulation.

Calvin’s calm, authoritative demeanor masks the violence beneath, allowing him to operate without scrutiny.  Sadie’s eventual confrontation with the truth leaves her with few options: the systems in place offer no justice for the nuanced, psychological, and reproductive abuse she’s endured.

This void compels her to act outside those systems.  Her final visit to Calvin in the hospital, under the guise of reconciliation, is not only chilling but deeply symbolic.

It reflects the reality that justice for victims of coercive control often remains elusive within traditional legal or societal frameworks.  Her choice to end Calvin’s life is morally complex but emotionally resonant; it is not vengeance for its own sake, but a final assertion that he will no longer dictate her life or her daughter’s future.

The novel does not glorify violence, but it does present a stark question: what happens when the people meant to protect fail to do so?  In portraying Sadie’s journey from victimhood to reluctant executor of justice, the book acknowledges the psychological cost of survival in a world where safety is not guaranteed.

The ending—sorrowful, resolute, and unsettling—reinforces the truth that survival sometimes demands choices that challenge moral boundaries, but they are often the only choices left when all others are stripped away.