Marissa and Jordan's journey through infertility is long and arduous, marked by multiple heartbreaking losses before they finally conceive through IVF. Their dreams come true with the birth of twin girls, Faith and Hope. To leave their painful past behind, they move to a picturesque Victorian home in the countryside, seeking a fresh start. However, their idyllic life soon reveals a darker reality.
From the very beginning, Faith and Hope display an eerie synchronicity and unsettling calm. Strange and sinister incidents start to occur around the house, which Jordan notices but Marissa dismisses, attributing his concerns to stress and overwork. She is determined to see her daughters as perfect and refuses to acknowledge the darkness she increasingly witnesses in their actions.
As the girls grow, their behaviors become more disturbing and harder to ignore. They create drawings depicting violent and macabre scenes and engage in cruel actions, such as harming animals and manipulating their peers. Despite Jordan's growing suspicions and attempts to confront the issue, Marissa fiercely protects Faith and Hope, driven by an unyielding, unconditional love and a need to maintain the image of her perfect family.
Marissa's denial and cover-up efforts intensify as the girls' actions escalate. She meticulously cleans up after their sinister deeds, often finding herself scrubbing blood stains and hiding evidence to keep Jordan and the outside world unaware. Her obsession with perfection extends to the twins' appearances and behavior, ensuring they are always impeccably dressed and mannered, masking the darkness that lurks beneath their angelic exteriors.
The story reaches its climax with a series of tragic events. Baby Grace drowns under mysterious circumstances, an event that Marissa desperately tries to rationalize and cover up, despite knowing the twins were involved. Jordan suffers a fatal asthma attack after the twins secretly tamper with his inhalers. In a final act of malevolence, Faith and Hope manipulate his hospital equipment, ensuring his death. Marissa, blinded by grief and denial, still refuses to see the truth about her daughters.
Throughout these horrors, Marissa's perfectionism and obsessive control create a facade of normalcy, even as her world crumbles around her. She maintains an image of the perfect mother, hosting extravagant birthday parties and social gatherings to project an ideal family life. Her mental state deteriorates as she becomes more isolated, unable to confide in anyone about the true nature of her daughters.
In the aftermath, Marissa decides to leave their home and move far away, hoping to protect her daughters from the world and the world from her daughters. The book ends with Marissa's ongoing struggle to reconcile her love for Faith and Hope with the terrifying reality of their nature, as she makes a desperate attempt to control the darkness within them and find a semblance of normalcy in a new place.
"Then Came a Rainbow" is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into themes of maternal love, denial, and the terrifying possibility of inherent evil in the most innocent-seeming children. The novel explores the lengths to which a mother will go to protect her children, even at the cost of her own sanity and safety, painting a chilling portrait of a family unraveling under the weight of hidden horrors.
