Sleazy private investigator Guy Thompson gathers blackmail on behalf of mobsters and shady lawyers. He drowns his guilt in whiskey and weed, until a case involving a mysterious church threatens to upend his way of life.

SYNOPSIS:

Plot: A strange church with hallucinogenic practices is making its presence felt in modern day New York City. The FBI rages a clandestine war against the Russian Mob, but their informants continue to get exposed and picked off. Guy Thompson floats through it all on a cloud of smoke and haze, content to drink, snoop, and illegally record every conversation he takes part in. His PI practice is flourishing thanks to a crooked lawyer who’s been collecting blackmail on NYC residents. The work’s immoral, but the pay is good and Guy’s way past caring. That is until he realizes that most of the marks he’s collected dirt on are members of the same strange church. When three of them wind up dead, Guy can turn a blind eye no longer. His investigation into the church and the shady lawyer who’s kept him well fed sends him down a rabbit hole that leads to drugs, violence, and corruption. What is this bizarre church after? Why is it so intent on sinking its hooks into Guy? And how could it possibly remain one step ahead of his investigation at every turn?

Themes: Where There’s Smoke is about the perils of living in a surveillance state, the struggles we have connecting with other humans in the digital era, and the lengths we’ll go for redemption. It’s also a send-up of classic noirs, complete with its dogged investigator, femme-fatal, and lived-in urban setting. It’s about the choices we make, and why we make those choices.

Characters: Guy Thompson was an ace investigator working out of the office of the District Attorney of New York. After an illicit affair blew a case and got a witness killed, Guy deflected responsibility, attacked an ADA, and lost his badge. A year later he’s still reeling, keeping his alcoholism in check by smoking joints and doing what he does best – snooping. The Russian Mob thinks one of their Underbosses is a rat? No problem, call Guy. A drug dealer needs information on his rival’s supplier? Guy can dig up the dirt. The Church of the Furtherers’ Movement wants blackmail on its own parishioners? Call Guy Thompson, PI – blackmail is his speciality.

Julia Tanner is an investigative reporter for The Times. A former confidant of Guy’s, it hurts her to see how far he’s fallen. As the labyrinth of his investigation begins to consume him and his constant substance abuse clouds his judgment, Julia’s the one who sees a conspiracy unfolding. What she doesn’t see is just how far reaching it is. And how it’s sullied the souls of some of her own co-workers and perhaps the entire paper.