Brief

In 1957, Billy is a young man working under his runaway father's shadow as a tapper when one day, he stumbles across a large pile of counterfeit money. Billy begins to slowly launder the money into his life, even as he's pursued by DCI Williams. Billy slowly climbs up the social ladder and navigates through the rapidly changing world of the sixties.

What We Liked

- This is a unique spin on historical fiction that gives readers a closer look at the life and struggle of the common man in the UK during the late fifties and sixties.
- As a film, this would be a fun period piece that would stand out as lighthearted in comparison to the heavier period dramas that dominate big screens.
- This would be good as a TV show as there are few historical fiction comedies that it would have to compete with and it would be interesting to watch the years within the story develop in season after season of the show. It would be like Mad Men with a more everyman feel.
- Key points: Based on a true story; Recognizable characters from history; Funny; Happy ending; Complex characters.

Synopsis

Billy is a young teenage railway tapper in 1957 who stumbles across a large pile of counterfeit bills one day while out on the job. He has slender hands and is able to steal a good amount of the cash, but not enough that it will get noticed. He recognizes the bills as counterfeits created during the war--before his father, Jim, had abandoned their family, he told Billy how he was assigned to track down the counterfeit money, but they hadn't gotten all of it. Billy hides the portion of cash that he stole and alerts his boss, Harry Two Bellies, to the pile of money. Soon, DCI Williams, a special detective, arrives at the rail yard and asks to speak with Billy. He is suspicious of Billy, but is unable to prove that he took any of the money, so he lets Billy go with a warning and a small reward that he will check up on him occasionally. Harry is proud of Billy and gives him a promotion for finding the stash.

Billy starts to plan how to integrate the large sum of money into his life, and wants to start by telling his girlfriend, Meg. Meg and Billy were childhood sweethearts. Meg pressures Billy into having sex with her in an alleyway one night, and soon after tells him that she has gotten pregnant. Billy proposes right away, and doesn't tell her about his secret supply of money. Instead, he goes to London and creates a persona called "Levi Indigo," an American who gambles, in order to try and launder the money. Meg and Billy get married, and soon after, he finds her with a bloody towel, in tears. She tells him that she has lost their baby and is so devastated that she doesn't want to try for another. Billy is forlorn but plans a trip with Meg to Hawaii using some of the money and disguising it as a grand prize won in a raffle, including front row tickets to see Elvis perform. They go to Hawaii, where Billy saves a man choking to death. Later, at the concert, Elvis calls Billy and Meg backstage and reveals that he was the one who Billy saved earlier. Elvis shoos Meg off and he and Billy snort cocaine together. A buxom redhead with Elvis introduces herself to Billy as ""Lola,"" and the two quickly hit it off. Lola seduces Billy, and he feels terrible about it, but she tells him that she has fallen for him and gives him a letter with her parents' phone number and address in Wyoming if he ever needs to reach her. Meg gets upset with Billy when he returns late to the hotel room, and persuades him to cut their trip short and take her back home.

Billy continues to be dogged by DCI Williams, who it turns out is a closeted homosexual man that had a crush on Billy's father back when they worked together in the war. Billy's mother, Mam, is sick, and so Billy moves the family to Florida, where he buys a big house. Meg is excited about the trip, but once he gets there, Billy and Mam take a separate road trip to the Grand Canyon while Meg stays home, saying she thinks she is pregnant again. Billy and Mam return from their trip early and Billy sees that Meg is trying to fake a miscarriage and Meg tells him that she faked the last one as well. Billy, heartbroken at her betrayal and lies, takes off for (San Francisco) without telling Meg or Mam where he's going. He makes his way to Wyoming and lives with Lola for a while, but she soon ushers him home once Mam tracks him down. When Billy returns to Florida, he learns that Mam has cervical cancer that has spread to her lungs and only has a few months left to live. Billy and Meg renew their commitment to each other and decide to forgive each other and try to make things work again. Mam dies, and Billy and Meg return back to their old home in the UK. One day, Billy receives a letter from his father, explaining his long absence and asking to come back to his life. Billy welcomes his father back, and Meg becomes pregnant with their first child, a daughter. Meg and Billy are happy again and DCI Williams retires after a few final conversations with Billy and his father, never able to prove anything. The world is changing as the 70's approach, Billy explores new ways to make money. Meg gets pregnant with their second child and Billy takes her to an Elvis concert in Las Vegas, where they run into the King and Lola again.

About The Author

Gary Finnan was born in Scotland and raised in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Billy Tapper Zillionaire is his first novel.