A big rock star fakes his own death and defrauds his insurance company out of twenty five million dollars then disappears. Thirteen years later an unemployed, recovering alcoholic, newspaper reporter finds out, and starts searching for the former rock star with the aim of exposing him, by selling his story to the newspapers. What happens is unexpected.

SYNOPSIS:

This story was inspired by the short life and untimely death of Elvis Presley. Locations are New York, Nashville Tennessee and Montana. Imagine the story starts in New York in 2017.

Imagine a super star, rock legend like Elvis Presley. Imagine that he is physically ill and overweight. Imagine that he has come to the stage in his life where he is unable to cope with the pressures of being a popular music star and he wants to get out before show business kills him.

Imagine the rock star is called Ricky Costello. His wife is screwing his manger behind his back. His manager is screwing him financially and on top of that he owes millions in alimony payments to his former two wives. Due to his failing health, he is unable to fulfil his contractual engagements, but he has to carry on or he will be sued.

With the help of his lawyer and two doctors Costello, in order to save his own life, fakes his own death and defrauds his insurance company out of twenty five million dollars then disappears.

Thirteen years later JACK ROSS, a recently unemployed alcoholic N.Y. journalist, receives a phone call from a playboy called ROBERT DOWNS. He tells JACK that he has photographic proof that COSTELLO is alive. That he had underwent plastic surgery to change his face after his supposed ‘death’. DOWNS wants to expose COSTELLO and sell the photographs and story to the newspapers for a lot of money. JACK gets the photographs tested by his estranged photographer wife JOSIE who finds they are genuine. He agrees to work for DOWNS for a fee, to find COSTELLO.

JACK employs his estranged wife JOSIE as his photographer, to help him track down COSTELLO. They start their investigation in Nashville where COSTELLO lived and was supposed to have died. We follow COSTELLO’S biography as JACK traces and interviews the people who were involved with the rock star. They are COSTELLO’S former family doctor, lawyer, manager, funeral undertaker, and his last wife.

JACK’S manages to put together the pieces of an elaborate jigsaw of deceit and fraud. He finally tracks down COSTELLO now called DR. KENTON, in Montana thirteen years (2017) after his supposed ‘death’ (2004), but there is a final twist to this story.

COSTELLO (DR. KENTON) has used the money he defrauded, to set up an Institute to help poor disadvantaged children from war torn countries. He has not taken one penny for himself. He is a humanitarian hero who has been honoured with a Doctorate by Montana University for his good work, helping wounded children suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.

JACK has a dilemma to solve, should he expose COSTELLO thus destroying his good work and the Institute, or tell DOWNS that he could not find him? Read the script to find out what happens next, and how Jack solves the moral problem in this intriguing story.