Connie Mulqueen
Writer | Storyteller
Winner - Scriptwriters Network Hollywood Outreach Program 2025
International Competition Nominee - Jaipur International Film
Festival 2026
A Secret Turning
Family Drama | PSYCHOSPIRITUAL
Awards & Recognition
Logline
After her daughter’s self-harm shatters the illusion of their perfect life, an image-driven marketing executive turns to a Sufi spiritual practice in a desperate attempt to hold everything together—just as she and her husband become entangled in a corporate scandal that forces her to confront the cost of everything she’s built.
About the Story
A Secret Turning is a character-driven drama that blends psychological realism with lyrical symbolism. The story is propelled as much by the internal journeys of its characters as by the events of their outer lives, weaving together evocative dream sequences and layered metaphors.
It explores the cost of perfectionism, the legacy of generational pain, and the power of ancient spiritual practices to heal modern disconnection. The tone and approach could appeal to audiences drawn to the introspective journeys of Wild and Eat Pray Love, or the immersive reality-bending storytelling of Jacob’s Ladder.
Synopsis
Laura Trivette is a successful, image-driven marketing executive with a seemingly perfect life – until her teenage daughter Rowan’s self-harm shatters the illusion of stability in their family. After losing her closest friend to the attraction of a more popular crowd, Rowan spirals into isolation and shame, struggling to find her place and any sense of self-worth.
Desperate to help, Laura enrolls them both in a Sufi whirling class. What begins as an attempt to fix Rowan gradually becomes something deeper. As Rowan connects with her inner self and begins forming more authentic friendships, Laura finds herself pulled into unexpected inner experiences – metaphorical visions and memories that expose the emptiness beneath the life she has carefully constructed.
At the same time, Laura’s husband Nick, CEO of a major health insurance company, faces a growing crisis when his company denies coverage for a young cancer patient who later dies. As public outrage builds, Nick is haunted by recurring dreams of an oncoming train he cannot escape, forcing him to confront the moral cost of his success.
When Laura’s firm is brought in to repair the company’s image, the family’s internal fractures collide with external pressure. As Rowan begins to rediscover her own sense of beauty and belonging, and Nick is pushed toward a breaking point, Laura must decide whether to continue preserving the life she has built—or risk everything to live more truthfully.
Atlanta Twirlers Celebrate Rumi
Atlanta twirlers celebrate the birth of the poet and mystic Rumi through the sacred Sufi practice of the Sema. This celebration took place December 17, 2019 in Alpharetta, GA. Participating in this tradition profoundly influenced the creation of A Secret Turning and its themes of transformation, surrender, and spiritual awakening.
Script Excerpts
EXT. BARREN LANDSCAPE - DAY (LAURA'S IMAGINATION)
View of Laura from behind facing a dry brown barren landscape that stretches to the horizon, seemingly forever. Suddenly, yellow and gold leaves blow in from all directions.
ZOOM TO LAURA FROM BEHIND AND CIRCLE HER
She stares curiously at the leaves. She tries to catch them but they slip through her fingers.
BACK TO LAURA FROM BEHIND
Now, the landscape is covered with shimmering crimson and gold trees.
BACK TO PRESENT - TWIRLING CLASS - LATER
Students have returned to the circle of Zabuton sets as Amir talks to them.
AMIR
In the next year, things may begin to happen inside or even outside of you that may feel disconcerting.
CLOSE-UP - LAURA
She listens intently, with curiosity.
AMIR (O.S.)
Your identity, everything that you take yourself to
be, will be questioned.
BACK TO CIRCLE OF STUDENTS
Amir turns his gaze toward Laura.
AMIR
It will be tempting to run back to what feels
familiar - but that is not the answer.
ZOOM SLOWLY TO LAURA’S FACE
A slight flicker of fear in her eyes.
AMIR (O.S.)
It will be painful, but don’t be frightened. It
means you are waking up.
INT. TRIVETTE KITCHEN - NIGHT
She enters the kitchen from the garage, her arms full of wrapped Christmas packages.
LAURA
Hello? Anybody home?
Silence.
She places her packages down and walks through the dark, silent house.
LAURA
Ro?
She enters the great room and notices her husband sitting in the dark.
LAURA
(surprised)
Nick?
She turns on the lamp. He sits silently, glaring at her.
LAURA
Where’s Ro?
NICK
I’ve been trying to call you for hours, and then,
this pops up on my phone.
He holds up his mobile, and she sees a video of herself twirling in Piedmont Park.
LAURA
Oh, I didn’t realize people were watching. (pause)
I was feeling happy.
NICK
Must be nice to walk away from responsibility.
Yeah, Andy called.
LAURA
Nick, this could be a new start for us.
Her face falls when she sees his stern expression.
NICK
Did you even consider me for one moment? When you
decided to insult my entire leadership team, humiliating
me in the process? Everybody who’s somebody was in
that room today, Laura.
LAURA
(laughing)
So? Nick, you need to quit, too. How can you
even consider working in that...
NICK
(interrupting)
Did you know your daughter got suspended today?
LAURA
What?
NICK
Yeah, and where’s her mother?
He lifts the phone showing the video.
NICK
Here she is. Losing her mind in front of the entire
city of Atlanta.
LAURA
Oh no. Where is she?
NICK
She’s fine. It’s you I’m worried about. You need
help, Laura.
LAURA
(surprised)
I need help?
Nick stands and reaches into his pocket, pulls out a slip of paper, hands it to her.
NICK
Tom highly recommends this woman.
She takes the paper and looks at it.
NICK
She specializes in helping people through
this type of thing. Anyway...
He turns and walks toward the stairs.
NICK
... she works with a lot of executive level people.
He walks toward the stairs, and she follows, talking to his back.
LAURA
(sarcastic, angry)
Oh, well in that case, of course - I definitely need
to see her so she can help me go numb like you.
He stops but doesn’t turn.
NICK
I’ll sleep in my office tonight.
INT. SUMMIT ACADEMY CAFETERIA - DAY
Rowan, Margo and Winston eat lunch at the misfit table.
ROWAN
My dad says it’s just people looking for
someone to blame.
MARGO
(sarcastic)
Oh yeah, people just randomly hurl flaming
pumpkins through windows.
ROWAN
He said that his company doesn’t kill
people. It just ... follows the rules.
MARGO
(mocking)
Just following the rules? Are you serious?
That’s like - step one in the “How to be a Fascist”
handbook.
WINSTON
My dad’s a doctor, and he says his practice pays
out the ass to help patients fight their insurance
companies.
MARGO
It’s called corporate fascism.
ROWAN
(innocent)
What’s that?
MARGO
It’s when companies get so big and powerful
that they basically control everything - politics,
money, even people’s lives.
Winston spots Francesca and her clan giggling, looking over at them, whispering. They follow his gaze.
WINSTON
I heard that Francesca got her teeth whitened
for the play.
They laugh.
All three of them look over at a poster hanging on the cafeteria wall promoting the school musical, “Frozen”.
MARGO
Hey, I just heard they need help with props.
I see a little opportunity for payback.
Winston and Margo exchange mischievous glances and begin to grin.
Rowan doesn’t get it at first.
ROWAN
What? (gets it) Oh.
MARGO
(to Rowan)
You in?
ROWAN
(gleefully)
Yes!
WINSTON
Let’s hit them where it hurts.
Margo sticks out her fist; they follow - three fists touch.
Themes
A Secret Turning explores the transformative journey that begins when a life built on certainty collides with a deeper call to truth, inviting us to:
A Secret Turning is a reminder that when we have the courage to face what is true, even life's greatest losses can become the beginning of something unexpectedly beautiful.
-
Choose integrity when self-preservation feels safer.
-
Awaken to difficult truths.
-
Search for a life rooted in authenticity and meaning.
-
Discover the hidden costs of ambition and success.
-
Find the courage to move forward when the path is unclear.
-
Allow adversity to become a catalyst for spiritual transformation.
-
Realize we have the power to make authentic choices.
