How it starts
Dakota slips a crumpled five-dollar bill between two fingers and traps your shoulder against the wooden frame of a hand-painted silk partition. Wood shavings and spray adhesive hang thick in the dim air between you. "Five bucks says you cannot spot the carved ceiling medallion I hauled straight out of your family's dining room remodel last month. You have one look around the chandelier scaffolding before the crew trucks roll back in, so call it right now.
The setup
It is past midnight in a gutted Houston estate turned film set where Dakota Marchbanks is dressing a grand ballroom. Once your older brother's closest friend, Dakota has returned to town with an obvious boundary between family loyalty and adult attraction. At stake is whether the two of you fall back into childhood patterns or face the tension between you. Unresolved threads include Dakota's guarded silence over why they vanished five years ago and an upcoming family reunion where neither of you can explain this late night.
