A More Perfect Union Notes

This is an original idea that I am developing. It is a crime drama set in the 1970s-1980s. I am sharing the characters, the character descriptions and the music/artists that inspired my thought process when I began to brainstorm this idea. This story will take place in the DC/Maryland/Virginia (DMV) area. This is during the time when the crack cocaine epidemic began to rise in the 1980s. I hope these notes provide a little enjoyment or distraction for you until I can return with more frequent posts.

A More Perfect Union Notes
Character Description

Christopher Mills – Late 20s-Early 30s. Clean cut and athletic. Comes from a respectable but modest family. He is a rising young star in the DEA, but his ambitions are driven by one person: his fiance Sandy Borden (a recovering drug addict).

Nolan Edwards – Early-Mid 30s. Clean cut and slender. The only son of hotel tycoons Teddy and Amelia Edwards. He displays his wealth arrogantly (luxury cars, clothes and women). His wealth enhances his vices (he moonlights as a drug dealer, with his drug of choice being crack cocaine). His arrogance and volatile behavior has alienated and corrupted the lives of many.

Joseph Chan (?) – Late 40s-Early 50s. Clean cut, average build. An expatriate from Hong Kong, Chan is a mildly successful businessman looking to fulfill his version of ‘The American Dream’*.

Margaret Chan (?) – Mid-Late 40s. Slender, attractive, softspoken. Wife of Joseph Chan. In effort of supporting her husband’s dream, she leaves her career as a schoolteacher to follow Joseph to America. Margaret misses her life in Hong Kong and is adjusting to American life.

Sandy Borden – Late 20s-Early 30s. Slender, attractive, bubbly. A recovering drug addict with ties to Nolan Edwards. Sandy is making great progress in getting her life back to where it was. As Christopher’s fiance, Sandy feels secure and happy for the first time in years. However, even a seemingly good thing has its flaws.

Jacob Mills – Late 50s-Early 60s. Clean cut, handsome, average build. Retired high school history teacher, Jacob is a highly regarded member of his community, having served as a city alderman and as a member of the board of education (in his son’s school district). He and Christopher share a close bond, talking frequently about subjects related to marriage to the growing drug epidemic in Washington, DC/Maryland.

Edith Mills – Late 50s-Early 60s. Slender, beautiful, softspoken. Retired middle school English teacher. She and Jacob provided a warm, open-minded upbringing for Christopher, which informs the close relationship he shares with his parents. Edith is also an accomplished author, having published a book with a collection of short stories and poems.

Theodore ‘Teddy’ Edwards – Early-Mid 60s. A bit rough around the edges, slender. Teddy strongly emulates President Teddy Roosevelt, the man he is named after. Like the legendary president, Teddy is a bit of an outdoorsman (fishing, hunting, horseback riding). However, he can be a bit abrasive and cold, especially to his only son Nolan (their relationship is tense, to say the least). Teddy is aware that Nolan is not living up to the Edwards’ standard, but can never truly pinpoint the cause.

Amelia Edwards – Early 60s. Slender, proper and beautiful. Amelia is essentially the face and public figure of the hotel empire she and her husband built. Amelia is oblivious to her son’s behavior and naively provides the resources that fuel Nolan’s addictions and unscrupulous behavior.

Benjamin Adler – Late 40s-Early 50s. Clean cut, average build. Christopher’s superior in the DEA. Benjamin is a 15 year veteran of the agency and his calm demeanor showcases that. Unlike Christopher, his motivations for his career involve a family tragedy (eldest son died of a drug overdose). He has a growing concern of the rising drug epidemic in the DC/Maryland area.

*-Chan’s business will not be stereotypical of how Asians are portrayed in film.

A More Perfect Union Notes: Part 2

Music For The Times (The music/artists that inspired A More Perfect Union)

Curtis Mayfield
Marvin Gaye (specifically Troubleman)
Otis Redding
Earth, Wind and Fire
Boston
Led Zeppelin
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five
Jimi Hendrix
Janis Joplin
Gil Scott Heron
Stevie Wonder
Diana Ross
The Jackson 5
The Rolling Stones
The Who
Kool and The Gang