Brief

Paris, 1925. An American journalist, tasked by an upscale magazine with interviewing some of the greatest writers and artists of his time, ponders if he has what it takes to stand shoulder to shoulder with names like Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso. Meanwhile, a French nurse tries to cope with memories from World War I, when she lost it all. Life will bring them together in an unlikely love story.

What We Liked

A charming recreation — both dramatic and visual — of a pivotal point in the last century in which
artists were truly “Gods Of Our Time”, the story combines the awe of romantic, 1920s Paris with
drama and the heavy traumas caused by war. The mixture creates interesting characters and life
journeys, bringing the audience along for the ride, as a love story blossoms from a series of unlikely,
yet fascinating coincidences.
TV: The episodic nature of lead man Jake’s interviews with numerous artists would make for an
interesting narrative device, basing each episode on each one of these encounters and how they
inform his actions — and, consequently, how he interacts with all others. The themes of each
interview are also susceptible to a parallel with nurse Sophie’s life, even if she doesn’t actually takes
part in them.
Film: A film, apart from being a glaring period piece, would convey great performances with complete
and satisfying narrative arcs; and a truly touching love story, worth of a large following. The audience
would also be enticed by the relationship between an innocent, relatable, well-mannered “farm boy”,
and the ones supposed to be the greatest artistic minds of the twentieth century.

Synopsis

Paris, 1925. Kansas City-based journalist Jake accompanies his girlfriend Margaret, the daughter of a
famous publisher from New York, in order to interview great artists from that era for her father’s
magazine. Fascinated by the city, he struggles to find the words to actually connect with such
legendary names — all the while pressured by Margaret and her group of friends to excel beyond his
own expectations. Meanwhile, in a Parisian hospital, a nurse named Sophie does her best to ensure
the well being of all patients, while she deals with losing her entire family in World War I. After two
extremely confrontational interviews with Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso, in which the artists
belittle the interviewer as much as they can, Jake’s confidence fully crumbles when the magazine
repels his articles, claiming them to be below their standards. He wanders through the streets and
bumps into Sophie. Although they don’t see each other again right away, they both make an
impression on one another.
Sophie can’t stop thinking about her family and how several bombs completely destroyed her village
during the first battles of the war, ten years prior. She ignores being courted by two different doctors
from her hospital and rushes to the countryside, in order to help a childhood friend with depression —
one of the few survivors from the village. Once there, she saves her just as the girl tries to hang
herself. Back in Paris, drama is just as heightened; Jake and Margaret remain in the city, but he starts
to feel her drifting away — going out on her own, disappearing for days and nights. Everything turns to
worse when, during a dazzling party, he finds his girlfriend making love to a legendary painter — one
he failed to properly interview. Furious, Jake goes running into the Parisian night just to be mugged
and beaten, being left for dead.
As he is brought into the hospital, Jake and Sophie reunite under terrible circumstances — he’s now
blind, after the thief’s attack left his eyes clogged with blood. Even without seeing, he and Sophie
strongly bond over their love of art and poetry and the memory of their long departed parents. He tries
to conjure up how she looks like by sensibly touching her face, to which she confesses to be the
woman he bumped into a number of days earlier. When he leaves the hospital, they travel together to
the remains of Sophie’s village, where he helps her cope with her loss — and where they finally make
love for the first time. As Jake starts to see flashes of light, indicating his sight is coming back, they
vow to stay together forever.

About The Author

Michael Bowker is a bestselling author and investigative journalist specializing in telling the human stories behind today’s health, science, and environmental issues. His books and articles have been published by over 200 publications, including Simon & Schuster, The Los Angeles Times, and Reader's Digest.