Among Thieves

Among Thieves is a dark-comedy crime thriller, about a young man in recovery who gets recruited by his N.A. sponsor to join a cult-like group of thieves. Lured in at the prospect of helping his father’s shaky new sales career in the home-security sector, Ethan learns the hard way, there’s no honor among thieves. Dealing with themes of taking responsibility while learning to forgive yourself, and bettering yourself by helping others, Thieves balances dramatic nuance from layered characters, with propulsive adrenaline-fueled set pieces. Speaking of adrenaline - protagonist Ethan will do almost anything to spike it. When we first meet him, he’s climbing a 60-foot rock wall without a harness. His N.A. sponsor notices Ethan’s thirst for a rush, which, coupled with his troubled past, lands him on the short list for Bill’s crew of thieves. Riddled with anxiety over his attempts to stay sober, and a falsely perceived life-debt he believes he owes his father, Ethan can't sit idly by while his dad struggles in a new job selling home-security. A partly reformed petty thief, and an expert free-climber, Ethan decides to scale townhouses around the neighborhood, in order to stir fear and drive up his dad's sales. Heartbroken over their fractured relationship, Ethan seeks out a new father-figure in his sponsor, Bill, who's got nefarious plans of his own for the former pill-popper with sticky fingers. Ethan frequents a local church where he attends narcotics anonymous meetings when his post-addiction anxieties become too much to bear. Bill considers the meetings a perfect breeding ground for potential crew members; a place where people in need seek out a community. Jay Bender, another recurring face of N.A. and a former police detective, isn’t buying what Bill is selling. And if he can fight his demons off long enough, he just might launch an investigation into the manipulative son of a Bitch who’s been targeting his fellow addicts in recovery. Among Thieves takes place in an intimate neighborhood on the Upper East Side of New York City. A place so familiar, yet corky, it’s like a Lynchian small town has been swallowed up by the concrete jungle. With dry humor aplenty, electrifying action and genuine character depth, Thieves reads like The Art of Self Defense meets Point Break. *** *** *** Unlike most human beings, I was born with only one kidney. After losing two grandparents to kidney disease, I asked my dad why he didn't donate one of his own to my grandfather. He told me, I'm saving it for you. My guilt, my anxieties, my fears - that feeling of all impending-doom - that’s where my voice comes from, that’s where this script was born, and that’s why my writing is authentic and true. How this all connects to a string of local jewelry heists, and an audacious train robbery in New York City’s Union Square Station that harkens back to the days of the nineteenth century outlaws? You’ll have to read to find out…