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Early morning in 1983, RUDY BRANDON, 18 and a bookworm, leaves his house for Beverly Hills High School. He waves to ADELE ALDEN, 17 and pretty, who heads for Hamilton High because her house next door sits just outside of the Beverly Hills municipal limits. DESMOND KENDALL, 18 and handsome, joins Rudy. LANI FLEMING, 13 and a tomboy, follows them while dribbling a basketball. In the school locker halls, two girls confront Desmond, who was going steady with each of them separately but gave his letterman sweater to a third girl named Tammy. They intend to inflict jealousy by telling Desmond they invited other guys to their sorority New Year's dance, but are surprised when Desmond retorts that Tammy was only going to clean the sweater and anyway he was holding his own party. Leaving the girls stunned, Rudy inquires about the party he had not even heard about, and Desmond confides that no one will ever get the best of him. Desmond volunteers Rudy's basement for the party.

The afternoon of Rudy's party, Adele tells her mother that she's not going to the party alone since all the guests will be from Beverly Hills, rich and snooty. Her mother, JAYNE ALDEN, wants her to go have a good time anyway and appreciate what Adele does have. Adele vows to marry Desmond when he becomes a lawyer - she will be rich and live in a Beverly Hills mansion. Jayne warns her that Desmond is a born trouble maker.

Rudy hosts the party, but he knows that everyone is there because of the popular Desmond. Desmond sneaks Vodka into the punch bowl. With the party in full swing, Desmond encourages the unsuspecting MAXINE EICHNER to drink freely from the punch bowl, then goes off to dance with Tammy as Adele watches jealously. Later, Adele passes through the master bedroom to use the adjacent bathroom. She notices Maxine passed out cold on the bed. While using the toilet in the alcove, she observes Desmond when he comes into the room, finds Maxine unconscious, and has sex with her.

Several months later, Adele learns from Rudy that Desmond is going steady with Tammy and no longer dating Maxine because she is pregnant. Adele makes a note from pasted letters cut out from magazines. Maxine, now very pregnant, stops Desmond and Tammy at school and accuses Desmond of raping her. She reads Adele's anonymous letter which states that Desmond is the baby's father and Desmond was going to knock up Tammy, too. Maxine and Desmond argue strongly. When he countercharges that half the school has laid her, she threatens that he will be sorry some day.

Rudy and Desmond are shooting hoops and Lani's father, MARTIN FLEMING, is frantically searching for Lani. She has run away again, this time she wants to be a rock star. Rudy stops and helps make calls to find her. Watching from her window, Adele sees Desmond is now alone and comes out to talk with him. He invites her inside his house and shows her around. They are alone, they embrace, and make love passionately. Afterwards, Desmond says he wants Adele as his new steady, he dropped Tammy for having no class, and he will be attending UCLA next year.

Two years later at UCLA Adele complains that Desmond takes Rudy along wherever they go, but Desmond needs Rudy to do his homework for him. Desmond, seeking to cloak himself with prestige, has bragged to his friends that he is going to get a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford in England. But Desmond doesn't make the grade. He induces his parents to give him the tuition to Oxford instead of buying him a car they had promised. Then he lies to everyone that Oxford issued him a special scholarship. Adele is concerned with their relationship, but Desmond promises he will be home for vacations, will never forget her, and asks her to wait for his return.

At Oxford, Desmond becomes bored, starts gambling, and stops attending classes. EARL CLIVE, his roommate, invites him to a costume party high in the social circle. Desmond is his usually suave self with the girls and dances with a number of them. Heading outside to cool off, he sees a masked girl, ELIZABETH PHEEL, in the half-light of the garden. On impulse, he cockily takes her hands and kisses her. To his surprise, she responds passionately. Desmond spies the greenhouse and leads her there to make love. They agree to meet there again on the following night, but as they re-enter the mansion, Desmond sees that she is very plain, and he regrets making the next date.

When Earl reveals that Elizabeth's father, LORD PHEEL, is one of the richest men in England, Desmond keeps the date. Soon, Desmond and Elizabeth are painting London red, going to the race track, dinners, casinos and each time Elizabeth pays the bill. Desmond visits Elizabeth at her huge estate in the country when her parents are away. They have lunch, go swimming and shower together. They ride horses and at a high point, she shows him all the land her family owns. Desmond tells her he loves her, she agrees, and they make love in the open.

At UCLA, Rudy tells Adele that Desmond will return in two weeks for spring vacation. Although she was disappointed he had not visited for Christmas, she determines that his nights will belong to her. Upon arriving at the airport, Desmond learns his father has had a heart attack and is in critical condition. He rushes to the hospital and stays with him until he dies five days later. Desmond's mother has barely enough money to survive and can no longer help Desmond. Desmond still has his ticket back to London. Adele regrets that they had spent no time together as she sees him off to Oxford.

Back in England and with no money, Desmond calls Elizabeth to arrange to see her, but she's sick. Desmond loses at the casino until he reaches the credit limit set by Lord Pheel. He borrows Earl Clive's car and goes to propose marriage to Elizabeth. She is delighted and tells him she is pregnant. As they leave for their honeymoon, Lord Pheel tells Desmond that Elizabeth will inherit his title and the peerage, and that he wants a grandson to carry on the four hundred years' tradition of the family. Then he tells Desmond that he paid off his gambling debts and knows everything about him. He warns Desmond not to bring shame on the family.

When Desmond writes Adele of his marriage, she is enraged. Adele's mother suggests that Adele should date Rudy, who plans to become a Beverly Hills lawyer.

Four months later, Desmond complains to Elizabeth that they have had no sex since the honeymoon and the allowance he gets from her has been cut off to keep him close by on the estate. She justifies this because of his constant escapade trips to London. She grabs her stomach in pain and yells for the doctor. She loses the baby, and their relationship grows steadily worse. He wants to move to London, but she insists they remain in the country. Fretting under the pressures imposed on him by Lord Pheel and Elizabeth, Desmond convinces Elizabeth that they would be much happier in America, away from the influence of her family. Lord Pheel dangles a future law office if Desmond will stay, but Desmond says he is going to law school at Harvard.

Adele is planning her marriage to Rudy and wants a splashy ceremony to tell everyone in Beverly Hills that she is no longer an outsider. As soon as Rudy finishes law school, she will buy a home in Beverly Hills. She and Rudy argue over and finally concede on inviting Desmond. At the reception, Rudy and Adele are introduced to Elizabeth. Desmond later dances with Adele, who taunts him that he made the wrong decision to marry such a cold, plain person when he could have had her, Adele. She tells him she is the beautiful and sexy one of the two, but his best friend now has her. Adele pushes Desmond away and leaves. Elizabeth sees everything.

Six years later, Desmond is a Beverly Hills city councilman and has a struggling solo law practice. Rudy is up and coming in a large law firm. Rudy sends overflow clients to Desmond to help him out because Elizabeth keeps a tight purse string. If it wasn't for her money, Desmond would drop her in a city second. Desmond has an apartment in Century City, secret from Elizabeth, where he does his entertaining.

The former tomboy Lani Fleming has become a sensational rock star and is in town on tour. She has changed her name to CINDY SAVAGE. After a concert, she is driving home when she runs into Desmond's car. He has been knocked unconscious and is bleeding. Hiring help to get him to his apartment, she cleans him up, bandages him, and sleeps in a chair. The next morning, she is awakened by Desmond. He is amazed to learn that she is the former Lani Fleming. Over breakfast, she asks him if he knows about entertainment law. He lies that he knows all there is. She asks him to watch over her legal affairs. He stops by his office to instruct his secretary to get all she can find on entertainment law. He goes home and makes up a story about where he has been all night. Elizabeth complains he is never home. He looks around and decides to buy a bigger house.

Adele drops by Desmond's office to play cat and mouse about rekindling their relationship. Rudy is not making the kind of money Adele anticipated, so she suggests that Desmond take Rudy in as his partner. As part of the bargain, Desmond is to arrange for Rudy and Adele to move out of their apartment in West Los Angeles and into a home in Beverly Hills. They seal the deal with a romantic interlude in Desmond's apartment.

Rudy is against becoming Desmond's partner because he can't trust him, and he is satisfied with the living he is making. He finally concedes if they purchase Key Man insurance and hire a CPA to watch the books. Desmond will bring in as clients high-profile friends of Cindy Savage, and Rudy will handle the contracts and negotiations.

Kendall & Brandon Law Firm is in full swing. Cindy's father, Martin Fleming, has been named as the CPA. Desmond and Elizabeth buy a mansion and let Rudy and Adele live in their former house. Desmond is managing the investment funds of a number of stars. Cindy also brings her neighbor, PETER LARKIN, an oil man, into the firm for Desmond to manage his affairs. Cindy asks Desmond to escort her to a premiere screening. Her record company wants her to change her image as a lesbian, and since Desmond is married and her lawyer, she won't feel strange being with a man. Reporters at the premiere swarm Desmond and Cindy. Her records are at the top of the charts and he has just been appointed to the State Crime Commission.

Fellow councilmen push Desmond to run for Beverly Hills Mayor, and in two years run for the governorship. Rudy thinks the entire idea is bad and does not want to support it. Cindy kicks in the first contribution from her trust account with Desmond. He gambles some of it away. Elizabeth finds out about Desmond's apartment, and returns to England.

When contributions to his campaign for governor lag, Desmond accepts a secret meeting in Las Vegas with ANGELO GENORI, an old Mafia gangster Godfather. Desmond is driven by JANO, a large thug, to a desolate ranch. Genori wants gambling legalized on the California side of Lake Tahoe, and Desmond is the man to accomplish it. He'll finance a chunk of Desmond's campaign in return for Desmond's promise to arrange it. He has Desmond over a barrel because Desmond's gambling debts came out of his casinos. Desmond takes the money.

But Genori's money isn't enough. Desmond steals from his trust accounts and wins the governorship. Elizabeth returns to help Desmond's appearance, but they can only argue about their relationship and money. She will pay off all his debts if he promises to return to England after his term as governor. He rejects her offer and storms out of the room. At the victory party at their mansion, Julio, Jano and two thugs show up at the back gate and pressure Desmond for payback. Peter Larkin comes back from the South Pacific and requests $200,000 of his money for an oil deal. Desmond successfully delays them. Elizabeth returns to England without helping Desmond financially and Rudy goes to Sacramento as Desmond's advance man. Adele and Desmond make love in the mansion. Adele presses him for a commitment, to divorce Elizabeth and to marry her. They violently argue, because he still hopes to get money from Elizabeth. Adele stomps out of the house threatening exposure to the press, and he promises she will die if she does.

Desmond meets with Jano and puts out a contract on Peter Larkin so that he won't need to come up with Peter's money. Jano wires Peter's car, but Peter's wife uses it and is killed. Desperate for money, Desmond flies to England. Adele is convinced Desmond is stealing from Rudy and their clients, but Rudy won't believe her until auditors prove her right. $400,000 is missing, much of it Cindy's and Peter's. Rudy vows no client will lose any money even if he has to pay it himself. Adele wants police action, but Rudy wants it quietly dealt with. She sends a letter to the Bar Association.

Desmond arrives in England, but Elizabeth has a surprise for him. The night in the mansion when Desmond and Adele made love, Elizabeth had their conversation taped and she plays the tape. Desmond is overheard professing love for Adele, his detesting Elizabeth, and only wanting her money. Elizabeth is filing for divorce with no financial settlement.

Back in L.A., Desmond writes fake promissory notes in an attempt to cover up his embezzlements. He confides to Rudy that he borrowed the $400,000 plus he owes the Mafia $300,000. Peter is on his way to the District Attorney. To Rudy, Desmond accuses Adele of a vendetta and that she would sleep in his bed for a price. Rudy slugs him, then offers to help him out of the financial mess. The District Attorney calls Desmond about Peter's account and Desmond delays him. Jano fulfills the contract on Peter that night.

A letter from MAXINE SPERLING of the State Bar Association arrives demanding a certified statement explaining the embezzlement charges from the anonymous letter sent by Adele. At the District Attorney's office, ORLANDO FREXES grills Desmond about the embezzlement. Desmond blames Cindy's father, Martin Fleming, and delays producing any proof.

Cindy, on tour in Europe, visits Elizabeth in England. Elizabeth has second thoughts about divorcing Desmond, and Cindy, unaware that most of her money is gone and that her father has been accused by Desmond, defends Desmond. Elizabeth says she will pay all of Desmond's debts if he thinks the money is coming from Cindy. Returning home, Cindy is met at the airport by Orlando Frexes, who is concerned for her safety in light of Peter's death and her using the same law firm. He tells her of the possible relationship of her father to the embezzlement. She is angry and confronts Desmond, who denies all of it and offers any protection he can, especially since the Mafia is involved. Alarmed at this, Cindy offers from her overseas account the $700,000 he needs, actually it's Elizabeth's money. Desmond asks her to go to Julio, herself, and ask for a delay until the money arrives. Julio doesn't believe Desmond will survive the embezzlement charges and tells Cindy that it was Desmond who took the money. He spike's Cindy's drink, then he and Jano rape her.

Desmond arrives at Adele's house to blackmail her to get Rudy's money to cover the debt before he has to meet the State Bar the next morning. She refuses but he threatens he will show Rudy a notebook he kept of all their encounters together over the years. She is furious, but agrees to talk. Rudy unexpectedly comes in, have heard everything. He says the marriage is over and throws Adele out. Desmond leaves her screaming revenge.

Going in to the Bar Association meeting, Desmond is smug. His inauguration as governor is only a few days off, then he'll quash the whole business. It turns out that Maxine Sperling of the Bar Association is none other than Maxine Eichner, the girl he raped at Rudy's house on New Year's eve, 15 years before. He storms out of the room while she vows to get him and soon.

Late that night, a woman visits Desmond at his apartment. In an embrace, he suddenly slumps and falls against her, a stiletto stuck in his belly. She leaves the building and calls Julio, claiming that Desmond is leaving town with the money. Julio arrives at Desmond's. The woman, hiding in the shadows, makes another call. Julio and Jano find Desmond dead and the money apparently stuffed in the air conditioning duct. Trying to fish it out, they are interrupted by policemen bursting in, who accuse them of killing Desmond. Julio's stick pin is in Desmond's fist.

Rudy has fixed all the problems, and the insurance has replenished all the client trust accounts. Cindy decides to keep Rudy as her investment manager, and they leave for dinner together. Elizabeth receives back the check for $700,000 she gave to Cindy for Desmond. She laments that he could have had it all.

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COMMENTS:

The Face of Deceit is a tragedy about the descent of a man, when driven by his lust for power, into the trappings of that lust and even into his death. Losing sight of relationships, what has been entrusted to him, legal boundaries, and even the taking of a life, he finds himself ever increasingly willing to do anything to obtain his goal. One lie requires the need for two more to cover the first. The more he takes, the more he needs. The people in his life are deeply affected and in the end, reap what they themselves sow.

The Premise that in the end, what you do comes back to you is well done. Every character got what they deserved. The forgiving and nice Rudy and Cindy endured hardship with honor, but ultimately received forgiveness of the debt, an honorable career, and each other. The greedy Julio, Adele and Desmond tried desperately to squeeze and steal from people, but ultimately lost everything, the money, Julio's freedom in jail, Adele's lifestyle, and even Desmond's life.

The Story Line moves at a fast engaging pace through many believable phases and builds the pace to a climax. The mystery killer at the end is an unexpected contrast to the aboveboard characters all along. The ending neatly wraps up the bad guys getting their comeuppance and good guys finding each other and considering a new romantic relationship. In the early years phase, the characters are finishing high school and concerned about the big party. The first attempts at manipulation, lusting for money and position, lying, and usury on small scale are seen. In the middle years phase, each character goes a separate way and they create their lives. Handsome Desmond marries plain Elizabeth for her money and Adele marries Rudy to spite Desmond. In the later years, the characters come back together, power calls to Desmond, and larger stakes are involved. Everyone is in much too deep and sinking faster. Desmond is running up debt and stealing for the habit. Adele is grasping for anything she can get. In the last phase, everything is resolved.

The Characterization utilizes well defined characters with lives all their own. The main characters demonstrate a range of emotions from the banter of the games of control to the threat of homicide to protect their worlds. As the antagonists, Desmond's and Adele's challenges and their obligation for stronger action steadily increases as a result of their actions. They are too lazy to produce anything meaningful or of substance, and seek only to be supported by others. In the end, they have no inner strength to withstand the mess they created of their lives. As protagonists, Rudy, Cindy and Elizabeth stand steady in their commitments and moral resolve. They weather the many problems that Desmond and Adele create, and emerge intact, ready to put it all behind them and continue with their lives. The men of the Mafia, in their devious ways to control situations for their own gain, were set up to take the blame for Desmond's death. Although they didn't have the chance to do it themselves, it is poetic justice for the murders they did not get caught for.

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