Overwhelmed by grief over the loss of his 8-year-old granddaughter and her classmates in a school shooting, a grandfather snaps after hearing a politician say, ‘this is part of the price we must pay for living in a free and open society.’

SYNOPSIS:

Seventy-year-old decorated U.S. Marine Michael Hyde loses his granddaughter in a school shooting. Overwhelmed with grief and struggling to understand why these things keep happening, he gets the answer from Senator James Carpenter (R-FL) who, during a national TV interview says, ‘These shootings are part of the price we pay for living in a free and open society.’ Determined to convince the senator that this is too high a price to pay, Mike takes a page from the Bible, Exodus 11:13 (Passover). He arms himself and sets out to take the life of the 'pharaohs' (senator) first born. Maybe if he and his family had a taste of what it feels like, he'll have a change of heart. Mike gains access to the prestigious private school the senator’s 15-year-old daughter Kelly attends and holds her and a four of her classmate's hostage.

Mike demands the same rightwing talk show host and the senator come to the school to broadcast a special live edition during which he confronts the senator with a gun to his daughter's head. If the senator promises, on live TV, to lead the charge to take measures to prevent mass shootings, Mike won’t pull the trigger. The host of the show and the senator plan to fool Mike. They claim the show is being broadcast "live" to a national TV audience but it's actually only being streamed into the classroom where Mike holds the hostages. Mike finds out, snaps, kills all the hostages and himself but spares Kelly, forcing her to live the rest of her life with the memory of what her father's political dishonesty, duplicity and betrayal cost. Thanks for your interest and I look forward to your response.

A FREE AND OPEN SOCIETY