Brief

After a botched debt collection turns into a double murder, low-level criminal Eddie Vegas finds himself wanted dead by his boss, Saul--known as the God of LA. Eddie meets a beautiful Native American girl searching for her missing friend as the pair is tracked down by Saul as well as a vengeful hitman from Texas. Meanwhile, a young homicide detective starts to see a pattern in unsolved murder cases, and closes in on the pair as well.

What We Liked

- The writing style of this novel is alluring and enchanting--with great action scenes and perfect dialogue, it's a quick read that would easily translate onto the screen. The characters are all complex and multidimensional. Everyone has their own paths and goals, and everything is wrapped up in a satisfying way that is hard to achieve with so many plot threads but pulled off in a way that makes it look easy.
- This would be a great action film filled with suspense scenes, action scenes, romance scenes--this is the perfect date movie that has a little bit of everything, with fun roles that big name actors will love.
- As a TV show, this would work best as a limited series and could stand out as an action-packed series with depth and substance. Audiences would want to tune in every week to not only see the chase between Eddie and his pursuers, but also the developments of relationships between the various characters and the slow revelations about who the characters are and what they believe.
- Key points: Diverse characters; Well-written; Multiple plot threads; Satisfying conclusion; Great action scenes.

Synopsis

Floyd works with Eddie under Saul, a drug kingpin, and tells Eddie that he needs to be ready to go scare someone in half an hour. Eddie, Floyd, and their driver, Sawyer, go to Bill's apartment with the mission to scare him into paying Saul the fifty grand Bill owes. However, once they're at the apartment, Bill charges at Eddie, and Eddie freaks out and accidentally pulls the trigger, killing Bill. A young girl enters the apartment and Floyd and Sawyer tell Eddie that he has to kill the girl to cover his tracks. The trio smuggle the bodies out of the apartment and bury them by the Griffith Observatory. Floyd tells Eddie that Saul will hold Eddie responsible now for the $50,000 that Bill owed Saul. Floyd and Sawyer leave, telling Eddie to go talk to Saul. Eddie gets drunk and goes to the strip club that he frequents. He meets a girl there named Dakota who reveals that it's her first day on the job and she is just there to find someone. Floyd and Sawyer show up at the bar to get Eddie and bring him to Saul, but Dakota is able to create a distraction so that they both can escape to Dakota's motel room. Dakota tells Eddie about how she's looking for her half sister, Kaya, who worked at the strip club until a few months ago.

Meanwhile, Rufus, Bill's brother, hears of his brother's death and decides to hunt down his killers. Rufus drives from Texas to California, stabbing anyone to death who gets in his way, including Bill's old attorney. Detective Allison Lockley is called to the crime scene from the night before. Allison is determined to find the girl's murderer, as well as the man responsible for all the stabbings. Through sleuthing, Allison discovers that the Jane Doe they found with Bill is Kaya. Eddie realizes he has to get out of town, but he won't leave without Dakota, and Dakota won't leave without finding Kaya. Eddie and Dakota flee to an old friend of Eddie's known as gay Larry. Larry now goes by Lois and tells them they can stay for the night, but tells Saul where they are. Dakota sees a news report confirming that Kaya is dead and freaks out. Eddie, realizing he killed Dakota's sister, freaks out as well, and decides to get some fresh air. When he returns, he finds Lois with a bullet wound, and Dakota kidnapped. Lois apologizes for ratting out Eddie to Saul but says that she needed the money for her transition surgery. Saul calls Eddie and tells him that if he wants to see Dakota ever again, he has to complete a bank robbery and bring Saul two million dollars.

When Saul tells Floyd about the robbery, Floyd decides that he and Sawyer should run away with the money instead. Saul doesn't want to put Sawyer on the job, though, and instead employs a man named Diego. When Sawyer and Floyd pick up Diego, he realizes that something is off and runs out of the car. Sawyer and Floyd go to pick up Eddie and they carry out the robbery. They soon find themselves in a high-speed pursuit with the cops and even a helicopter chasing them. They manage to evade it all and end up at a car lot, where Sawyer and Floyd tell Eddie that they're taking the money but they'll spare him and that he should run away. Eddie has realized that he's in love with Dakota, however, and doesn't want to let them get away with the money. Before he can act, however, Diego appears and shoots Floyd, killing him. Sawyer is heartbroken over Floyd's death and after the pair hunt down and kill Diego, Sawyer tells Eddie that he will help him take the money and get his girl. Eddie goes to meet Saul, but Rufus finds and kills Sawyer before Sawyer can get there. Eddie tries to trade the money for Dakota, but Saul wants to just kill them both, when Rufus enters. Meanwhile, Allison had tracked down Rufus and watches the scene. When she sees that an attack is about to happen, she calls out ""LAPD"" and enters. A huge shootout occurs, ending with Eddie killing Saul and Rufus killing everyone until Allison finally kills him. Eddie finds Dakota outside and unties her, but she has learned that he killed Kaya and holds a pistol to his head, ready to kill him. Allison makes it outside and tells Dakota not to kill him, to let him rot in jail, and Allison will let Dakota keep the money.

About The Author

Philip Elliott is an award-winning author, freelance editor, and founder and editor-in-chief of award-winning literary journal and small press publisher Into the Void. Philip was a National Juror of the 2019 Scholastic Art.