Atonement: Plot Summary

Chapter 1: Thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis writes a play and witnesses a confusing scene between her older sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner, demonstrating her misunderstandings about adult emotions.
Chapter 2: Robbie realises his love for Cecilia and unintentionally sends a sexually explicit letter to her through Briony.
Chapter 3: Cecilia reads Robbie’s letter and reciprocates his feelings, leading to an intimate moment between them at the library which Briony misinterprets as assault.
Chapter 4: Briony finds her cousin Lola and her twin brothers Roger and Jackson, who are staying at the Tallis house due to their parents’ impending divorce.
Chapter 5: During dinner, the twin brothers go missing leading to a search party during which Briony falsely accuses Robbie of raping Lola.
Chapter 6: The next morning, Robbie is arrested based on Briony’s accusations.
Chapter 7: Four years later, Robbie is released from prison to join the army during World War II, leaving Cecilia behind.
Chapter 8: In London, Cecilia, now a nurse, reconciles with Robbie during his brief leave from the war.
Chapter 9: During the Battle of Dunkirk, Robbie, who is badly wounded, keeps himself alive with the hope of returning to Cecilia.
Chapter 10: Back in London, Cecilia continues her work as a nurse at the hospital.
Chapter 11: Briony, now 18 and training to be a nurse, begins to understand the enormity of her false accusations against Robbie and how they have impacted Cecilia’s life.
Chapter 12: Briony visits Cecilia who reveals that she is still in love with Robbie; Briony sees the pain her lie caused and decides to confront her wrongdoing.
Chapter 13: Briony submits her story of the events to a magazine, beginning her career as a writer.
Chapter 14: Robbie dies during the war and Cecilia dies in a bombing raid shortly after.
Chapter 15: A fifty-nine-year-old Briony visits Lola and her husband Paul Marshall to tell them about her upcoming novel which reveals the truth.
Chapter 16: Briony attends the family’s annual birthday dinner where Lola and Paul are also present, leading to awkward moments.
Chapter 17: Briony, now elderly and diagnosed with vascular dementia, finishes her final manuscript of the novel, revealing the true events of what happened during that fateful day and her role in the tragedy.