"Last night I dreamt I went to Wapping again" is the opening line of ‘Rebekah’, the long awaited update to Daphne du Maurier’s novel ‘Rebecca’. In the story, ‘Rebekah’ recollects her past, telling the story of her rise and fall.
After meeting a wealthy Australian, Rupe de Murdoch she agrees to work for him, and accompanies him to his mansion, the beautiful News of the World HQ in Wapping.
But, Rupe’s daughter, Lizzy ‘Danvers’ de Murdoch tries to undermine her, suggesting that she will never retain the urbanity and charm of the Newspaper. Whenever she attempts to make changes, Lizzy describes the demise of former editors. Rebekah carries on regardless.
But she commits one faux pas after another, becoming convinced that Rupe regrets his impetuous decision to employ her and is too deeply in love with his empire to care about her. The climax occurs at the Newspaper’s annual dinner. Lizzy manipulates her into crimping and dyeing her hair red after showing her a picture of Mick Hucknall who, unknown to her, Rupe hates with a passion.
Then, in the early morning hours, a media storm that had been building over the Wapping estate leads to an absolute 'train wreck'. Hugo Grunt, an actor who had been researching the work of the Newspaper for a role in ‘Milly Dowler’s Diary’ uncovers Rebekah’s ruthless hacking.
Lizzy then reveals her contempt for Rebekah by encouraging her to commit suicide by jumping into a paper shredder, but is thwarted at the last moment by a knock on the door by the Metropolitan Police.
Rupe confesses the truth. How his concern for his flagship newspaper is nothing but a sham; how from the very first days of his take over, he loathed it. It was a cruel and selfish rag that believed it was the voice of the people and a paragon of virtue. In a violent rage he tries to axe it to death and dump it down a sewer.
But it refuses to die as devoted editors resurface in an attempt to tarnish him.
Then the newspaper is revealed to have been suffering from a cancerous condition and would have expired within a few months anyway. Rupe suddenly feels a great sense of foreboding and insists on driving through the night to return to Wapping. However, before he comes in sight of his empire, he sees a red glow on the horizon, Rebeka’s fiery red hair lit by camera wielding paparazzi as she is led away in handcuffs.
With Rebekah imprisoned Rupe and Lizzy return to foreign exile.
