A man and a woman are mid-conversation in a comfortable sitting room. They make an attractive pair and, though it is clear that they are strangers, she’s already recounting details of her unhappy marriage and violent husband. And he clearly has a story to tell too, if only to reveal what is in that mysterious briefcase on the table.

Nothing is quite as it seems and, as they unfold the twists and turns of Richard Stockwell’s provocative thriller, Claudia Christian and George Calil run the whole gamut of emotions as the balance of power shifts between them with each fresh revelation. The chemistry they generate ensures that passions run high.

This whodunit for the thinking person is a homage in some ways to Sleuth and Deathtrap, although here the suspense feeds off sexual tension rather than humour. Distractingly, at several points the plot leaps over improbability to keep the story moving and risks undermining otherwise convincing performances from Christian and Calil.

Though director Jacqui Garbett keeps her finger firmly on the pulse, in the final quarter the script dips, understandable in such an intense two-hander played in just one room. The main result is that Calil momentarily loses steam as his character flounders. Luckily for all, Christian gives a gripping, electrifying performance right up to the final, violent denouement.