Over the Hills and Far Away

House lights come up on a vacant castle set atop a hill in the highlands of Central Florida. From off-stage, whispers of a dark plot to forever change and enslave mankind. Enter John Merlan - a middle-aged behavioral therapist, recently arrived from The North. He comes seeking answers to life's biggest questions and clarity to his own purpose. Like many of us, he stands at the crossroads of the digital age and the comfort of a vanishing era. What begins as a seeming self-wellness/travelogue becomes a man's second chance to examine the flaws and defects inherent in our design, and a search for the core meaning to 'this human thing'. Through conversations with clients, friends, and strangers, he stumbles toward a new phase in his existence - unraveling a Mystery, finding Comedy within life's futility, while coolly staring down his own mortality and the Tragedy that is our toxic modern world.