Lighthouse

Luce Foucet is the keeper of the Beach Haven Lighthouse and a professional travel writer. As she is preparing to leave on a trip to Lisbon, a private detective arrives looking for Stella Chase, which is Luce's pen name. He tells her there is a young woman sitting alone in a car by the ocean cliffs. Horrified, Luce realizes that it's her best friend, Alice Palmer, who is attempting to carry out her threat to commit suicide because of a rare skin cancer called XP. Luce tells the detective to go downstairs, retrieve Alice from the car and bring her up to the safety of the lighthouse. As they wait for the doctor, Luce realizes that the young detective is really Michael Braxton, a south Bronx homicide detective with whom she's had a long and intimate correspondence. Frustrated in her attempts to send Michael away, she finally tells him about Alice's XP. She then reveals that she also has the disease and that she has no desire to involve herself in any kind of relationship. When the doctor, Dr. Ellis Ramsey, who is Alice's uncle and an expert in XP, arrives at the lighthouse, Luce forces him to reveal the results of her own recent biopsies, and Dr. Ramsey explains that Luce's cancer has metastasized to her liver and that her prognosis is a matter of weeks. Despite her many attempts to discourage Michael's attentions, he persists, and she decides to allow him to become part of her life. He soon learns about Luce's unusual past, her suspicions about Dr. Ramsey and her frustrating attempts to help Alice. As Luce's condition continues to deteriorate, both Michael and Alice are forced to deal with the devastating results.

Digital script available upon request.