Riptide spoilers: Tempers flare as Alison’s world implodes

It’s been only days since her husband disappeared in the surf near their home, but Alison Weston’s life keeps getting worse in Riptide.

Still refusing to believe he won’t just walk back in, she’s been fighting the police, who have given up their search for Sean (Peter O’Brien) – and is increasingly sure someone close to her is hiding the truth about his absence.

Now, her stepson Ethan (Benny Turland) arrives to drop another bombshell. Never a fan of his father’s second wife, he delivers Alison (Jo Joyner) an ultimatum: she has two weeks to get out of the family home.

“The gravy train has come off the rails,” he says when she finds him in her kitchen uninvited.

“I’d start looking for something now, if I were you. The real estate market is pretty tight.”

It’s a move that sends her ex-husband Michael (Ciarán Griffiths) into a rage, , lashing out at Ethan and assuring his daughter Hannah (Asher Yasbincek) he’ll make sure she always has a home.

But it also sends Alison once again to her new friend, neighbour Dan (David Berry), who is more than happy to offer her a shoulder to cry on.

“You could stand up to Ethan,” he suggests, setting in motion a battle that will turn friends and family against one another.

With an all-star Australian cast and written by Anthony Ellis (Blue Heelers, Packed To The Rafters), Riptide is fast becoming one of the most-layered Australian mysteries in years, with suspects and twists at every turn – including, at the very end of this episode, a discovery that will change Alison’s life forever.