A career-driven LA woman in ruin must restore a Texas Hill Country winery to change her life and save her inheritance.

SYNOPSIS:

Cold Open:

CATHERINE ROGERS (21) and MATT DAVIS (21) drive along a narrow mountain highway. Matt pulls off. He takes Catherine’s hand and walks with her into a quaint chapel. There, Matt drops to one knee and proposes.

Act One:

Catherine, now 31, stands behind a desk, in a custom-tailored black suit. She adjusts her headset, no wedding ring, and rips into someone on the other end of the phone.

ANNA (25), Catherine’s assistant, comes in the office, “Uh, your mother called about Christmas in Texas,” she says. Catherine responds, “I can’t imagine anything worse.” She hands Anna a box to mail. Anna lingers. Catherine notices, “Was there something else?” Anna, stammers, “Uh, my notes on the term sheet?” Catherine pulls the note from a pile. She drops them on the box. “Your instincts are good. Your math is sloppy. Mistakes are expense. Don’t make them” she says. Dejected, Anna walks away. “Uh, you have lunch with Bernard today,” she says. Catherine’s phone vibrates. She looks at the screen. She tells Anna, “Cancel.” Anna speaks over the box, “It’ll be the third time.” Catherine picks up the phone; she gives Anna a withering look and answers the call.

On the other end of the phone, sheriff BRADY WALKER (40) tells Catherine her parents have been in an accident. Catherine, distracted by BERNARD ROTH (60), slick, arrogant, abruptly ends the call. She focuses on Bernard. He leans against her office door frame and polishes an apple on his jacket sleeve.

In Texas, sheriff Walker is on the scene of a fiery crash. He looks at Catherine’s mother, ELOISE (65). She reaches for him. “Did you reach her?” she asks. “Tell her we love her, and we can't wait to see her at Christmas.”

Back in Catherine’s office, she’s fired. “I run things. I ask for a meeting you take it,” Bernard says. Confident, Catherine counters “I’ve got twenty million that says I’m not going anywhere.” Bernard laughs. “Matt Davis,” he says. Catherine nods. Bernard walks to the door, “Your boyfriend’s money won’t save you this time.” Bernard opens the door. An armed security guard, with a box, walks in.

Catherine’s cell phone vibrates. She answers, “What?” Catherine’s office phone rings. She looks at her computer. An image of Matt, now 31, pops up. Catherine drops her cell phone. She clicks Matt’s image and puts her headset on. Matt is animated, “The partners want a meeting,” he says. The Guard picks up a framed photo. Catherine snatches the photo. She stares at the image: Catherine in a cap and gown with her parents. She takes her headset off and picks up her cell phone.

Act Two:

With no home, Bernard evicted her from the corporate apartment, and no job, Catherine, drives to Texas. Along the way she drinks and sings, her sorrows away. Until she speeds past a police car. The sirens go off. Catherine pulls over. She tries to conceal the little alcohol bottles on the front seat. Sheriff Walker approaches the car. He gets a good look inside. He demands Catherine step out of the vehicle. He looks at her license and realizes who he is face to face with. It is in this moment she first feels the kindness and support of the community, when sheriff Walker says, “Miss Rogers, get in the squad car. I'll drop you off. I suspect you're intoxicated. Considering the circumstances, I can either arrest you or drive you. Choice is yours.” The police car pulls to a stop outside of Thomson Funeral Home. Inside, Catherine meets IMOGENE THOMSON (70), neat, tidy, hair in a high tight bun. Imogene provides Catherine with her parent’s ashes.

Back at the hotel, Catherine is surprised to learn from DEL MASON (45), a smart looking, but awkward, estate attorney, her parents’ estate consists of cash and property. Del pulls up the information, “Here it is, Round Rock Winery,” Del pauses, “I don’t do real estate. One of our other lawyers handled the purchase.” Catherine stops Del, “Winery? What? They make wine in Texas.” Del sits up proud, “Yes! Driftwood is in the second largest certified viticultural area in the U.S.” He passes Catherine a picture of the property. Catherine looks at an image of a breathtaking estate. “When can I see it?” Del hands her an envelope with a set of keys. “As soon as we finish up here,” he says.

Catherine speeds down the highway, she taps the wheel and sings along with the radio, happy, and excited. The picture of Round Rock sit on top of a set of papers on the passenger seat. The GPS beeps, Catherine hits her turn signal, but there’s no road. She pulls over and checks the directions. With trepidation she drives down a dirt road and crosses a wooden bridge. In shock at what she sees ahead, she hits the breaks. The car skids to a stop. She snatches the picture from the seat. She holds it up for reference. On the house ahead, massive shutters hang from rusty hinges, birds fly in and out, grapes wither and fall to the ground. Catherine lifts her foot. The car rolls toward the house.

She parks, takes out her phone and calls Del. She demands he unload the house. Del tells her, “I don’t to real estate,” but he promises to send help. By the time help arrives, in the form of Imogene, she’s also a realtor, and DECLAN REEVES (45), a contractor, Catherine is passed out behind the kitchen counter in a hotel robe. She clutches her tequila bottle and snores. Imogene gets Catherine up. She introduces Declan. Catherine mistakes him for the Grim Reaper. He came from church in his habit, a dark hooded cloak. Catherine sees something in Declan. He notices something about her as well, mainly that her robe is open.

While Declan assesses the house, Imogene tells Catherine the history of Round Rock and its demise, “Noth’n kills someth’n beautiful faster than neglect.” Declan enters. He runs down a list of repairs that come with a hefty price tag. Catherine has no choice. Round Rock is all she has. Overnight a storm races across the Hill Country. Catherine is awakened. She sees a shadowy figure on the porch and hears a voice on the wind, “Take what life has to offer… Make wine.” Catherine wakes up on the floor. RED, a twenty-one-pound Jersey rooster walks toward her. Red is a retired cock fighter. These days he does as he pleases.

Catherine gets to work, restoring the winery. Matt calls Catherine and demands she return to L.A. Catherine refuses. Over the course of weeks, she works side by side with Declan. They form a close friendship. Imogene comes to check on the progress. Catherine shares her plan to make Round Rock profitable, “Round Rock will be an opportunity for interactive, sharable, experiences, that will bring people to the winery and keep them coming back. Here you can work the land, create your own vintage and spend the night in one of our spa-grade barrel rooms.” Imogene is impressed. She takes a prospectus and asks Catherine how many investors she has. Catherine shares her investor list and tells her she’s lining up meeting. Imogene looks it over and says, “Men, God love um, don’t want you at the table they want you on y’er knees. Have y’er meetings. Then come see me.” Catherine has meetings. Imogene is right. Catherine is desperate. She’s out of money. She’s sold what she owns to pay her workers. Dejected, she goes to Imogene’s house where she meets the Women’s Investing Group. An organization of influential Texas businesswomen with over twenty billion dollars under management. The group read Catherine’s prospectus. They want to invest.

Act Three:

With the money she needs Catherine puts her plan into action. The official website launches, barrel rooms are set on foundations, t-shirts and other merchandise is created with Red’s image and the tagline “Round Rock, Come Awaken Your Senses.” Catherine attracts media attention to the story of Round Rock. She and Red grace the cover of magazines. Catherine is happy, the warm glow of that hopeful twenty-year-old girl shines again. Until a spring storm threatens Round Rock. The storm arrives at the same time Catherine gets a surprise visitor. Matt arrives at Round Rock; he wants to talk. The thunder and lightning outside is nothing compared to storm brewing inside. Matt wants Catherine to come back to L.A., to give their relationship another chance.

In a flashback we see Catherine and Matt’s wedding day. A SCANTILY CLAD WOMAN (30), charges into the church. She shouts, “I want my money.” The flashback ends. Matt defends himself, “I love you because you are generous to a fault, but my therapist made me see, your generosity ends at other people’s faults. I couldn’t live up to your expectations. No one can. I did something extreme. I’m sorry. I’ve been sorry.” Catherine acknowledges what he’s said and tells him they have no future together.

A lighting strike hits dry brush and sets the barn on fire. Catherine runs out of the house. She grabs a water house and tries to douse the flames. The volunteer fire department arrives. They put the flames out, but the damage is done. Matt sits next to Catherine on the couch. At the sight of Declan, he slides closer to her. He wraps his arm around her shoulders. Declan sees the embrace. He leaves.

The next morning, Matt returns to L.A. Everyone else is on hand to clean up. From Catherine’s perspective, it’s a lost cause. The winery is flooded. Grapes are on the ground. The merchandise in the general store is destroyed. Everything she spent a year working on, gone in one night. Just when she thinks all is lost, her phone rings. Bernard has an investor that wants to buy Round Rock.

Catherine goes to L.A. Bernard huffs forward to greet her, he takes her hand, “A little rough. I’ll have my girl get you in for a mani-pedi while you’re in town.” Catherine studies her hands for a second and smiles. Bernard doesn’t miss a beat, “I’m glad this is a meeting with me you decided to take,” he says and shows Catherine into the conference room. Anna goes over the deal documents. Bernard interjects, “You’ve really taken this as far as you can on your own.” Catherine flips the pages back and forth; she circles a few things. She looks at Bernard, “It is a very nice offer. I appreciate your consideration. Once, I gave Anna some advice. It’s too bad she didn’t take it. The math is wrong.” Catherine pushes back from the table, “Cheap, young and aggressive, just got expensive. Round Rock is not for sale.” Catherine leaves the meeting and heads to the cemetery where she hosts a memorial for her parents.

When Catherine returns to Round Rock, Declan is waiting for her. He says, “I won’t ask how your meeting went I’ll just say, ‘We’re done.’” Catherine looks around at the guests and all the activity. “Let me guess,” she says, “Things weren’t as bad as they looked.” Declan smiles.

Six months later, it’s Christmas. Catherine’s home is full. She takes out the box she sent to her parents and sets up the nativity. She looks out the window. In the distance, a vintage lighted marquee sign comes on, “Round Rock, Come, Awaken Your Senses.”