The song, which was written by Peter Beckett and Steve Kipner and produced by David Foster,[2] alludes to the wrongdoings of the characters but mostly centers around the fact that they get a second chance at life.

[14] In their review of the single, the editors of Billboard magazine described it as "a strong dance-rocker that floats Newton-John's light voice over a booming, bass-heavy rhythm track.

"[15] Cash Box wrote that the song "shows an urgent David Foster production full of throbbing bass lines and multi-layered keyboard parts."

"[17] In the music video for "Twist of Fate", Newton-John sings on a black soundstage surrounded by three raised jury boxes filled with people mostly shown in shadows.

[18] "Twist of Fate" was listed on the reports that MTV provided to Billboard that indicated what videos were in rotation on the cable network and made its first appearance there in the 3 December 1983 issue, which indicated that it had been added to their playlist as of 21 November.