The Assault on Lola

While searching for the twins, Lola is attacked and raped by an unknown assailant on the island near the temple. Briony, who has been searching separately, comes upon the scene. She sees a figure fleeing and finds Lola in a state of shock. In the darkness, Briony cannot see the attacker's face clearly, but she is certain it is Robbie. She convinces herself and Lola that she saw him, and Lola, too traumatized to contradict her, acquiesces. This event is the novel's central crime. The assault is a brutal act of violence, but the greater tragedy is Briony's false accusation, which will send an innocent man to prison and shatter the lives of everyone involved.