The Duchess of Natchez

Aspiring theatre actress and current waitress JEANIE is behind on her rent and struggling to make ends meet. The one bit of excitement in her life is bar singer COLBY - the pair having struck up a burgeoning romance. It pays dividends too, as Colby’s daytime job as a mechanic enables Jeanie to fix her beloved Mustang, one less bill to pay. Unbeknown to Jeanie, Colby is also the estranged son of a software tycoon, whose death the previous year passed his estate and inheritance aside to his Russian wife of just six months, MRS FOSTER. It becomes quickly apparent though that Mrs Foster is more than just a late love interest; her desire, to remove Colby from any opportunity of inheritance show her true intention to keep the fortune for herself, and possibly use her new position for even more nefarious acts. While Colby has renounced his former life, he’s determined to prove he’s innocent of the blackmail Mrs Foster accuses him of; Mrs Foster so far appeasing him with twelve instalments of twenty-thousand dollars each, followed by accusations of blackmail should he pursue more. Son of the Foster family’s late housekeeper, MRS. SMELLIE, postman, JET, has been keeping up with it all - opening letters, peering through windows, listening in to interactions between Foster and her live-in Russian bodyguard and romantic interest, OLEG. Jet, believing he’s the rightful heir to the Foster estate, catches wind of the so-called blackmail money to Colby, and intercepting a payment, he travels to New Orleans, where he knows Colby lives and works. In a tense reunion it is revealed Jet and Colby have a long history, as summer camp associates and questionably half-brothers - the elder Mr Foster apparently no stranger to extra-marital affairs. Jeannie becomes caught between an escalating quarrel over Colby's cash, and manages to subdue Jet and Colby, who she now distrusts, in an attempt to find out what exactly is going on. Unconvinced by either argument, she resolves to leave both men in the wilderness, and take an upgrade on her Mustang, and Colby’s bag of money. But a last gasp plea from Jet, to gain her a million-dollar cut while raising money for disabled vets and the homeless, gets the better of her curiosity. Releasing the two, the three discuss the enticing possibility of getting their own back on the imposter Mrs Foster, and the better of her potential criminal motivations; the chance for them to all walk away with the billion-dollar fortune, uniting the three.