Brief

True story. A mother, worn out after a failed marriage and the crumbling of her apparently perfect wealthy life, tries to find her son, who disappeared after joining a religious cult.

What We Liked

- Based on actual events;
- Elinor, the lead character, is a fighter; not one to throw a pity party - verbal/physically abusive,
drunken husband, two out of three kids that practically disown her, and the third kid winds up
missing in India under the spell of a Buddhist cult. All of this is enough to make a person
throw in the towel, but not Elinor.
- The main character is married to a Documentary Filmmaker and travels through the high
levels of society - a lot of amazing scenery and interesting situations;
- Dramatic arcs meant for actors with developed skills - award potential;
- Exotic, international locations - Africa, India, Peru, London;

Synopsis

Elinor Rosogin wants her ‘white picket fence’, a husband, a house, and healthy children. She idolizes a
filmmaker named Lionel - so much so she helps him with every film he produces. This job has them
travel to exotic locations like Africa, Israel, and Peru. They sleep under the stars and have dinner with
like-minded filmmakers. Life is great. They eventually marry and have three children; Michael, Daniel,
and her youngest, Johnathan.
Slowly, however, her house begins to crumble as her husband develops a drinking problem. At first it
starts off as drinks after a long day of filming, then turns into verbal abuse in front of guests and the
children, eventually spiraling into physical abuse against Elinor. She puts up with it for a brief period of
time, but there is only so much Elinor can take until she decides to take control of her life and file for
divorce. What she doesn’t see coming is that Lionel gets into the children’s heads and turn them
against her. She reaches out and gets only one to respond, little Johnathan.
As Johnathan grows up, Elinor notices some cracks in his personality; he has problems relating to
women, is extremely susceptible to people with power, and becomes confrontational. One day
Johnathan comes home with a profound love of Buddhist culture and their way of life. At the age of
19, he tells his mother that he will move to India to be with “his kind” at a Buddhist Colony called The
Three Ho Foundation. Elinor is in denial as Johnathan sets off to the east. She begins to research;
first what Buddhism is, and then what this colony is all about. When she finds out that it has been
described as a cult, she begins to worry. After some time of not hearing from her son - the last picket
of her ideal fence, her last beacon of a perfect family - Elinor embarks on a manhunt to track him
down.
There is no record of Johnathan getting on a plane to New Delhi, or getting off a plane there. She
blankets areas of where he could be with fliers, subscribes to Hare Krishna newsletters, and
continues to follow money trails. Once all leads have gone cold, Elinor decides to go a “spirit guide”,
who informs her that Johnathan has passed on to the spirit world.
Elinor chooses not to believe it and continues, to this day, the hunt for her youngest son.

About The Author

For years, Elinor Rogosin lived in New York City, where she raised her three sons, and worked in public relations and as a journalist. Two of her sons are now grown men living independent lives, but a veil of heavy silence still covers the mystery of her son's disappearance in India.