One has to feel empathy for Karen Cartwright, a widow and the aunt of young Riley Cartwright. Aunt Karen became Riley's guardian when she was twelve after the father deserted her and the mother embarked on a spree of petty crime. Scrupulously honest, Karen will now have to deal with a niece involved in a counterfeiting scheme.

If there is a theme to "Deadly Transaction" (a.k.a., "Counterfeiting in Suburbia"),it would be the desperation apparently felt by many struggling to make ends meet in today's world. This was apparently true for Riley's birth mother. It is certainly true for Riley's aunt. And, it is true for Riley's oily art teacher, Tim Sylvester. It was also a prime motivator in the printing of hundred-dollar bills by Riley and her friend Erica.

One of the most interesting characters in the film was Oliver, Riley's boyfriend, who reminds her that "you have to take a stand" to end the counterfeiting. Through Oliver and Aunt Karen, there was a genuine moral compass in Riley's life that guided her back from the brink.

There was good suspense in the interior struggle of Riley, whose conscience kept reminding her of her wrong-doing. At the same time, it was difficult to believe that the two high school students could pull off such a stunt when less than .01% of $600 billion in United States currency is counterfeit.

It also stretched credibility to think that Aunt Karen would not allow the police to handle Oliver's kidnapping and that she would collaborate with her niece in printing the money for Oliver's ransom. It was also not clear why Aunt Karen was charged with a felony and sent to the penitentiary after Detective Glass clearly did not believe her made-up story that the shady Tim Sylvester was her "business partner." The quick-thinking Detective Glass instantly recognized that Aunt Karen was protecting her niece.

The film's denouement of Riley cheerfully performing community service seemed too smarmy given the serious of her crimes. And, by the way, what ever happened to Erica?

We saw this last night under the title Deadly Transaction. Riley and Erica are NOT your typical high schoolers. They print counterfeit money and spend it lavishly. The movie stars Sarah Butler who always does a great job as the relative who discovers their secret as well as their lowlife art teacher who has an unpaid debt. He also discovers their secret. What happens next? Tune in to find. out Only thing that was missing is HOW the high schoolers got involved with this life of crime? Definitely would watch again.

At least this Lifetime movie deals with a not often dealt with topic - counterfeiting money. The premise that 2 teenage girls can make such good counterfeit notes is hard to accept. The action comes when a crooked teacher wants in on the action. The ending is quite satisfactory - not too fairytale.