*THE UNWINDING is a a dual point-of-view journey of the great lengths a father goes to protect his daughter from the past, and what bonds are worth breaking to discover the truth.

Missy stumbles upon evidence in her father’s office that she was secretly adopted, yet Jack swears to whiskey in hand, that he doesn’t know anything about her real mom. Missy realizes that finding her real mother could solve the sometimes-aching void throbbing in her chest. Despite it all, her father is clear that he won’t help.

Jack is a man with a plan and Missy’s hero. A top criminal attorney in Manhattan, he’s a single widower and a loving, yet demanding father to Missy and her brother. Missy lost her adoptive mother to cancer at seven years old, and from then on, her dad’s idea of love shifts to one of determination. To ensure an illustrious life for his children, Jack carefully curates their livelihoods, clad with penthouses and executive jobs. But his silence and will to keep Missy in the dark about her birth mother only sparks suspicions. Missy must decide if she’s ready to hear whatever truth she’s hoping to find, as she sorts through the obscure layers of their family in search of her mom, alone.

Only one person is willing to help: Missy’s neighbor, Cole, a gorgeous and talented Broadway star. A chance meeting on their opposing fire escapes quickly turns into something more intense than Missy’s ever known. As they dig to expose the connection between her birth mother and adoptive father, Jack’s life unravels. Her father’s usual clever strategies turn into one abrupt bad decision after another, as though he’s running out of time. Jack alludes that the truth may put their lives at risk, however this is Missy’s chance to take back her life, and live by her own rules for once.

*THE UNWINDING, previously titled CURTAIN RISING, was selected for the “Query Kombat” and “Nightmare on Query Street” contests. This past year I had the opportunity to do a complete revision.