Sean Young as Martha Alden

About the Character:
Women are the building blocks of civilization. Women knit society together. They enforce the rules and see that men do as they’re told. They organize. They teach. They pass on traditions.

On the frontiers, such women would deliver babies, set broken bones, slaughter hogs, and kill chickens. If necessary, they would kill anyone who threatened their family. They might take an ax to an intruder, or put poison in his food, or set fire to his bed. When times get better, they insist on churches and schools and parks and gardens, and get them.

Although she doesn’t know it, Martha Alden is one of those women. So far in her life, she’s never been tested. She will be.

Martha comes of Scandinavian pioneer stock, though she never thinks about it. She went to high school and college, where she majored in Business just because it guarantees getting a job. She met Frank and was impressed by his goofy earnestness and steadiness. And he was wholly devoted to Martha, like a dog. An ideal husband. And excitement is overrated.

Before she knew it, Martha had a regular job as an accountant, then there was a house to buy, then children so she works part-time, and that’s about it. There’s plenty to do.

Her hobbies are gardening, and she belongs to the local gardening club, who help out keeping plots neat throughout the city. She also belongs to a women’s group that organizes various fundraisers for charity such as feeding the homeless and aiding unwed mothers. She was a hockey and soccer and softball mom for Pam and John, but Peter and Katie aren’t into sports. She supposes before too long she’ll be a grandmother.

If she has any regrets, it’s that she didn’t stick with piano lessons, or that they never take enough vacations, or that the children will be grown and gone too soon.

But now there’s a new regime. Frank doesn’t see the threat. Martha does. And it threatens her family. Before long, Martha will discover her inner core of steel. When the rules go out the window, Martha is one of the first ones to adopt new ways to protect her family. Legal or illegal, moral or immoral become meaningless words when danger looms. God help anyone who gets in her way.

About the Actress:

See Sean's IMDB

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