My Readers Guide for Big Little Lies will get you ready for the new 2026 sequel to this 2014 bestseller. Big Little Truths comes out in August 2026 and this guide has a refresher for Big Little Lies: character list, plot summary, a book vs movie comparison, and a trivia quiz to see how much you remember!
Readers Guide for Big Little Lies
Table of Contents
Character List for Big Little Lies
- Madeline Martha Mackenzie: 40 year old mom of three
- Ed Mackenzie: Madeline’s husband
- Chloe Mackenzie: Madeline’s daughter with Ed (age 5)
- Fred Mackenzie: Madeline’s son (age 7)
- Abigail: Madeline’s daughter with Nathan (age 14)
- Nathan: Abigail’s father
- Bonnie: Nathan’s new wife
- Skye: Bonnie and Nathan’s daughter
- Celeste: former lawyer
- Perry White
- Josh and Max White: Celeste and Perry’s twin boys
- Jane Chapman: freelance bookkeeper and single mom
- Ziggy Chapman: Jane’s son
- Di: Jane’s mother
- Saxon Banks: Ziggy’s father
- Renata Klein
- Geoff Klein: Renata’s husband
- Jackson Klein: Renata and Geoff’s son
- Amabella Klein: Renata and Geoff’s daughter
- Juliette: the Klein family’s nanny
- Patricia Lipmann: principal of Piriwee Public School
- Rebecca Barnes: kindergarten teacher
- Carol Quigley
- Harper
- Graeme: Harper’s Husband
- Detective Sergeant Adrian Quinlan
Big Little Lies: Complete Plot Summary
Prologue
Two elderly women who live near Pirriwee Public School hear a commotion at the school’s Audrey and Elvis–themed Trivia Night. There’s been a death, and the question of who was murdered and why hangs over everything that follows.
Six Months Before Trivia Night
Madeline drives her daughter to kindergarten orientation on her fortieth birthday. She’s irritated by a young woman using her phone while driving.
Jane and her son Ziggy watch Madeline take a fall. After drop-off Jane and Madeline head to a local cafe, Blue Blues. Celeste arrives, and the three discuss the school’s mom cliques, including the “Blond Bobs.” They drink champagne and show up to pick up their kids from orientation a little tipsy.
Renata’s daughter Amabella claims to have been choked by another student, and Renata says Ziggy did it.
A confrontation follows: Renata and Jane each suggest the other’s child is lying.
Five Months Before Trivia Night (December)
Celeste is planning to leave her husband Perry once the twins finish high school. Jane is agitated about the accusations against Ziggy. Celeste and her family fly home after the holiday break.
Four Months Before Trivia Night (January)
We learn that Perry physically abuses Celeste.
Madeline invites Ziggy, Jane, Celeste, and the twins for a playdate. Celeste tells her that Renata wants everyone to stay away from Ziggy. Madeline feels that Abigail prefers Bonnie to her.
Ed, who loves murder mysteries (he’s a Patricia Cornwell fan), jokes to Madeline that he should kill Nathan and frame Bonnie. Madeline observes that both Celeste and Jane seem damaged.
Amabella invites everyone in the class to her birthday party … except Ziggy.
Kindergarten begins. Madeline boycotts the party. She and Ed argue about it. Jane frets over Ziggy having flashbacks to past trauma. Madeline hands out free Disney on Ice tickets that conflict with the party’s timing, which sets off a fight between Celeste and Perry. Jane loses Harry the Hippo, the class take-home toy.
Two Months Before Trivia Night
Abigail says she wants to live full-time with Nathan and Bonnie, devastating Madeline.
Celeste is distracted by memory of last night’s physical fight with Perry. Bonnie narrowly edges out Madeline in the mother’s race.
Perry sends Celeste flowers. She googles “domestic violence.” Madeline helps Abigail pack for the move.
One Month Before Trivia Night
Jane stresses out about a family tree school assignment. She and Ziggy fight because he wants his father’s name on the chart. Later, Jane tells Madeline the name: Saxon Banks.
Jane tells Madeline the full story: after a breakup with Zach, she went to a bar, met Saxon, and went back to his hotel room. He choked her during sex, then insulted her. Madeline is horrified and wants to look him up online.
Celeste meets with a counselor, who asks if Perry has ever hurt the boys. Celeste says no, but the counselor urges her to put together an escape plan.
Madeline gives in to her curiosity and searches for Saxon Banks.
Two Weeks Before Trivia Night
Tom the barista is flirting with Jane when she gets a call that the principal wants to see her. The principal tells Jane that there are still bullying accusations against Ziggy. Renata crashes the meeting and insists Ziggy stay away from her daughter.
Abigail spends the weekend at Madeline’s. Under Bonnie’s influence, she’s newly interested in global women’s rights.
Celeste rents a new apartment and has a possible job lead. She imagines what it will be like to actually leave Perry.
Jane asks Ziggy about the bullying; he says he doesn’t want to talk about it.
Madeline hosts book club. One of the women mentions there’s a petition to suspend Ziggy from school. Ziggy’s teacher, Miss Barnes, calls Jane and says she’s never seen any conflict between Ziggy and Amabella.
Ziggy tells Jane that several kids have said they’re not allowed to play with him. Jane’s babysitter’s mother offers cold comfort: “Little kids, little problems. Wait until you’ve got drugs and sex and social media to worry about.” (Is this foreshadowing for Big Little Truths??)
Celeste wonders why no one wants to talk about the actual book. Everyone’s fixated on the bullying petition, which Harper apparently started.
While cleaning up, Celeste and Madeline discuss Ziggy’s father, since Jane has told them both. When Madeline says the name Saxon Banks, Celeste is shocked. Perry has a cousin by that name. Celeste asks Madeline not to say anything to Jane.
Jane discusses the petition with her father and brother and considers moving back home. She’s privately worried Ziggy might have hurt Amabella, given her own history with his biological father.
Five Days Before Trivia Night
Jane overhears mother’s gossiping and tells them her son never hurt anyone. At school, listening to Amabella read, Jane asks who’s hurting her, then gets into a shouting match with Harper, who accuses Jane of assaulting her.
Ed, a journalist, gets assigned to cover the school bullying story. Jane books Ziggy an appointment with a psychologist. In front of other parents, Celeste tells Perry that if he signs the petition, she’ll leave him. Perry does not take this well.
At a school assembly, Bonnie tells Madeline that Abigail is working on a secret charity project.
The psychologist doesn’t think Ziggy is a bully; she wonders if he’s the one being bullied.
After a remark Celeste makes didn’t sit well with Perry, he beats her badly.
Lorraine calls Madeline to tell her about the affair between Renata’s husband, Geoff, and Juliette, the nanny.
Nathan calls Madeline to break some upsetting news. Abigail has built a website to raise money for Amnesty International, auctioning off her virginity to the highest bidder to raise awareness about child marriage and sex slavery. Madeline is furious.
Jane talks to Ziggy about switching schools and urges him to name the bully. He finally says it’s Max, who’s now also bullying Nathan and Bonnie’s daughter Skye.
Celeste realizes who Saxon really is.
Nathan and Madeline discuss how to shut down the website. Madeline and Nathan lecture Abigail, and Madeline threatens to involve the police if necessary. Madeline accidentally rear-ends Renata’s car at pickup.
Ziggy and Jane go to the hair salon. Madeline thinks Celeste looks unwell. Jane looks for a chance to tell Celeste about Max.
Abigail gets a letter from an 83-year-old man offering her $100,000 to take the website down. Madeline wonders if the offer is even real.
Jane goes to the coffee shop soaking wet; Tom takes her to his apartment behind the cafe to dry off.
Celeste prepares for trivia night. Josh tells her that Max is the bully. Perry finds out about the apartment.
Trivia Night
It’s time for trivia night. Jane brings Tom as her date.
Celeste tells Perry that Max is the bully. When he realizes she’s leaving him, he asks for another week and promises to get help; she says she’s taking the boys.
Bonnie asks a tipsy, disorderly Madeline to finally forgive Nathan for leaving her with a new baby. Someone bumps into Bonnie, and her cocktail spills down the front of Madeline’s dress.
Jane and Celeste step out onto the balcony to talk. Celeste admits that Josh was telling the truth about Max and apologizes; Jane says she already knew. In addition, Celeste apologizes to Bonnie, since Max has been bullying her daughter too.
Madeline overhears mothers gossiping about Jane again and tells them off. She accuses Celeste of posing as the 83-year-old man maned Larry Fitzgerald, to get Abigail’s website shut down. Renata mentions that the nanny was also sleeping with another father in town.
Perry shows up wearing a wig, and Jane recognizes him instantly: “I think we’ve met, except you said your name was Saxon Banks.”
Celeste remembers Perry once impersonating his cousin to dodge trouble. Celeste throws her drink at him, and he hits her. Bonnie snaps, tells Perry his own sons have clearly seen him hit and abuse women, and shoves him.
With the deck slick from the rain, Perry goes over the balcony railing and falls to the ground below. Ed tells someone to call an ambulance. Renata says she didn’t see what happened, and Madeline backs her up. Celeste starts screaming.
Two men dressed as Elvis, still brawling from the costume-party chaos, knock into Jane and Madeline as well.
Aftermath
Police search for CCTV footage. Ed is unhappy about being asked to stay quiet. Madeline has a broken ankle, and Jane’s collarbone is broken from being knocked down by the fighting Elvises. Geoff’s nose is broken nose and Graeme has cracked ribs — the two men had gotten into a fight after learning they were both sleeping with Juliette, Renata and Geoff’s nanny.
Ed asks: if Perry’s death was an accident, why can’t they just tell the truth?
Madeline and Ed discuss whether they think Bonnie meant to kill Perry.
Ed says he’s not sure he can live with the lie.
Nathan tells Ed and Madeline that Bonnie’s father was violent and that she has PTSD. Madeline decides they won’t tell the police what they saw.
In the police interview, Jane insists they were all looking inside because of an altercation there.
Bonnie comes to talk to Celeste. She says she’s going to go to the police and confess. She grew up having to lie and doesn’t want to keep secrets, or have secrets kept from her, anymore.
Celeste texts Madeline that Bonnie is going to confess.
Four Weeks Later
A journalist interviews everyone, hoping to get a book deal out of it. Jane thinks about Perry’s funeral.
One Year Later
Bonnie is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 200 hours of community service. The balcony wasn’t up to code, and the weather was a contributing factor. Celeste is now practicing at a family law firm and has set up a trust fund for Ziggy.
Trivia Quiz for Big Little Lies: How Much Do You Remember
Book vs. Show: What Changed
Setting and Structure
The novel is set on Australia’s fictional Pirriwee Peninsula, while the show is set in Monterey, California. The kids are starting kindergarten rather than first grade, and orientation day happens months before the school year actually begins, not the day before. Because the book includes snippets of the police interviews from the start, readers know early on that a parent dies.
Characters
In the book, Madeline has a young son, Fred, who doesn’t appear in the show. Jane’s parents are present, recurring characters in the novel; her mother even asks Madeline to look out for her.
Relationships and Affairs
The book gives Madeline and Ed a drama-free marriage, while in the show Madeline has an affair.
Jane and Ziggy’s Backstory
The book is more explicit about Jane’s assault: she remembers it clearly, including verbal abuse from her attacker. There’s also a detail the show leaves out entirely: Jane moved to the Pirriwee Peninsula because she’d once seen a real estate brochure for the area in her attacker’s things, and she went there hoping to find him.
Celeste’s Storyline
In the book, Celeste attends therapy alone rather than with Perry, and getting her own apartment is her idea, not her therapist’s.
Abigail’s Website
In the book, Abigail is 14, not 16, making her virginity auction illegal. It’s shut down only after a stranger offers Amnesty International $100,000 if she’ll take it down.
The Aftermath
Ed is visibly and repeatedly unhappy about being asked to lie for Bonnie — there’s real friction between him and Madeline over it. Bonnie ultimately turns herself in and is sentenced to 200 hours of community service, a detail the show’s later seasons handle very differently.