A feature-first tropical noir with premium-streaming appeal — action, mystery, built for spin-off.
A Southeast Asian supernatural thriller set in modern rain-soaked Bangkok.
PRODUCER SUMMARY
Logline: When a Global Security & Recovery agent’s partner is killed in a relic-recovery sting, he flees to the Cayman Islands to disappear—until a colleague is murdered before revealing who set them up, forcing him back into the hunt across the Caribbean and Mexico, with a dive captain and his tough daughter caught in the crossfire.
Genre: Detective thriller • Action-adventure • Tropical noir
Format: Feature film / streaming MOW • TV spin-off potential
Setting: Contemporary Caribbean (Cayman Islands) + Yucatán / Texas-Mexico corridor (location-flexible tropical)
Language: English (local-language adaptable by market)
Status: Completed feature screenplay
Materials: Script (complete) + synopsis (currently)
Franchise / series upside: Ending naturally launches an episodic “Caribbean detective” engine (cases-of-the-week in a dive-shop/boat hub).
About T. A. DeBonis
Creator, screenwriter, and author with 30 years in broadcast television, developing production-ready mythic IP for global film & TV adaptation.
• Open to options, shopping agreements, and
co-pro development.
• Materials available for verified producers.
PRODUCTION MATERIALS AVAILABLE
Secure PDFs provided to verified producers - available on request
Feature Script
One–Sheet
WHY THIS WORKS
Sun, salt, and a body in the water—then the mystery pulls you under.
• A proven commercial lane: Tropical, character-led crime adventure in the vein of Magnum, P.I. / The Rockford Files—bright surface, real danger underneath.
• Fast, clean engine: A driven investigator + island ecosystem = clear suspects, clear motives, escalating pressure—built to move.
• High production value without VFX: Boats, beaches, docks, resorts, night streets—cinematic texture that’s inherently production-friendly.
• Budget-smart by design: Lean cast, contained locations, practical action—efficient production with a premium finish.
• Market-portable: Written for the Caribbean, but designed to relocate cleanly to any tropical/coastal territory (Taiwan / Vietnam / Thailand / etc.) without changing the story.
• Franchise runway: Feature-first, with natural TV spin-off potential (case-of-the-week adventures out of a dive/boat hub, recurring villains, returning locals).
WORLD & TONE
• Paradise with teeth: Sunlit beaches, dive boats, marinas, and resorts—then you turn a corner into back-alleys, bribes, and bodies.
• Tropical noir (light-on-its-feet): Bright surface, darker undercurrent—danger without going full grim.
• Detective spine: Clues, suspects, double-crosses, and a ticking clock—always moving forward.
• Action-adventure texture: Chases by boat, dock fights, night infiltrations, and “island logistics” that add tension.
• Local flavor: Island characters, port authority politics, expat money, and criminals who blend into vacation crowds.
• Location-flexible: Written for the Caribbean, but designed to play in any tropical/coastal setting without breaking the story.
• Episodic spin-off potential: Archer stays, partners with Tim/Jenny, and runs cases out of the dive shop—new mysteries weekly in the island ecosystem.
KEY CHARACTERS
A burned-out recovery agent, a Cayman dive captain, and a tough local ally—pulled into a relic-smuggling war hiding under paradise.
JEFF ARCHER
Global Security & Recovery agent • ex–Navy diver
• Damaged, disciplined, and dangerous when cornered.
• Loses his partner in a sting gone wrong—then tries to disappear in the Caymans.
• The killers follow him south, forcing him back into the fight.
• Runs on guilt, instinct, and a refusal to lose someone again.
ANN MYERS
Archer’s partner / lover • the inciting wound
• Killed in the opening sting—becomes the moral and emotional engine driving Archer.
• Her death is the thread that leads to the true kingpin.
• The case stops being “work” and becomes unfinished business.
• Haunts Archer as memory, guilt, and a standard he can’t live down.
CAPTAIN “TIM” FLINT
Cayman dive captain • weathered, practical, quietly lethal
• Knows the water, the ports, the locals—and what not to ask.
• Runs on island rules: favors, debts, silence, survival.
• Becomes Archer’s anchor and his way in.
• When pressure hits, Tim isn’t a bystander—he’s capable.
JENNY FLINT
Tim’s granddaughter • tough, wary, smart • the human stake
• Street-smart and unimpressed by Archer—until danger makes it personal.
• The person who forces Archer to protect someone again.
• Sees the island clearly: tourists on top, predators underneath.
• Her safety becomes the line Archer won’t cross.
MANNY SOTO
Smuggler / connector • the face of the pipeline
• First real thread in the relic-smuggling chain—knows routes, handlers, payoffs.
• A survivor: talks when cornered, lies when safe.
• Represents the network Archer is punching through—money, leverage, violence.
• Leads Archer to bigger names… and bigger consequences.
THE KINGPIN (Reveal)
Hidden boss behind the relic pipeline
• The figure Archer can’t see—until the midpoint reveal turns the chase into a war.
• Sophisticated enough to hide in plain sight; ruthless enough to erase witnesses fast.
• Controls the island through “legitimate” fronts and dirty enforcement.
• Makes Archer choose: walk away… or burn it down.
THE HOOK / STORY ENGINE
THE HOOK
A burned-out global recovery agent tries to disappear in the Caymans after a sting goes wrong—but the people who killed his partner follow him south. When he realizes the same network is moving a dangerous relic pipeline through the island’s tourist facade, Archer has to stop running—and start hunting.
WHAT HE DISCOVERS
• The death isn’t random—it’s connected to a relic pipeline moving through the islands.
• The “vacation economy” is cover: ports, marinas, resorts used as transfer points.
• Local players are compromised—payoffs, favors, and quiet enforcement keep it humming.
• Archer isn’t just hunted—he’s being steered toward someone higher.
WHAT ESCALATES
• Each lead exposes a bigger tier: runner → connector → front → kingpin.
• The island closes in: limited exits, limited allies, constant surveillance.
• Jenny becomes leverage, forcing Archer into a protect-and-pursue squeeze.
• The midpoint reveal flips the story from “solve it” to open war—walk away, or burn the whole machine down.
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