Unbelievable is based, almost word for words at times, off of The Marshall Project’s An Unbelievable Story of Rape , published in 2015. It explains the background and ins and outs of the case concerning Marie (who’s identified as Marie in the story was well — it’s the real victim's middle name), along with other rapes in the area of Lynwood, Washington. The (male) detectives Marie goes to see after she’s raped believe she’s lying and get a coerced confession out of her recanting what she’s already reported. This, undoubtedly, turns her life upside down. Elsewhere in the country, two other female detectives are also tracking an influx of rapes and are working together to try and catch the guy, who ends up being the same one who harmed Marie.