The Grand Paloma Resort

Natera (Neruda on the Park) riffs on The White Lotus in her gripping tale of disaster unfolding at a Dominican resort over the course of a week. Laura, 27, a manager at the resort, has cared for her wild younger sister, Elena, now 17, since their mother’s suicide over a decade earlier. She’s close to securing a promotion and with it her and Elena’s future. Meanwhile, Elena works as a babysitter for guests’ children. After one of her charges has a bad fall while Elena’s high on ecstasy, Laura seeks help from a witch friend to heal the child and urges Elena to flee the country. To pay for a flight to London, Elena hatches a plan to pocket $10,000 from the child’s father in exchange for sex with a brothel owner’s two underage daughters, but she warns the girls not to spend time with him. Just as a hurricane bears down on the area, the two girls go missing, sending locals on a frantic search to bring them home. Meanwhile, Laura desperately tries to clear Elena from suspicion of human trafficking. Natera adds lush details of Dominican culture and heavy themes about the power and burden of family bonds. It’s a worthy pick for the beach bag. Agent: PJ Mark, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Aug.)