Dirty Little Secret on AllMovie

Made for and originally broadcast on the USA Cable Network, this soap-operatic tale of deceit, kidnapping and motherly love is set in a small town and centers on Ellie (Mary Page Keller) the wife of the burg's sheriff and her beloved adopted son Charlie (Michael Suchanek). Ellie's marriage to Jack (Jack Wagner) is quite troubled, due in part to his rather shabby treatment of Charlie. Ray (Ian Tracey), his girlfriend Sarah (Tracey Gold) and the rest of his gang make money robbing liquor stores until Sarah comes up with an even better plan: why not kidnap the sheriff's son and ask for $100,000 ransom. That is exactly what they do. Ellie is frantic and wants to call in the FBI, but Jack insists on handling the investigation himself. Determined to have Charlie back, no matter the cost, Ellie convinces her father, owner of the town bank, to put up the ransom. Unfortunately, she does not realize that Sarah, to whom Charlie bears more than a passing resemblance, has other plans. As those plans are enacted, Ellie finds herself learning some surprising and painfully dark secrets, leaving her to wonder just who the good and bad guys really are.