The youngest partner in firm history, Markus’s life is the envy of anyone. But underneath his perfect apartment and perfect wardrobe lurks a dark history shackled to his perfection. And when his perfect girlfriend decides to leave him, Markus is forced to decide whether to take her life or his own in order to control his perfect narrative.

SYNOPSIS:

What if love was a drug?

With a c-suite job at a highly-respected architecture firm, a Manhattan-penthouse lifestyle and the gorgeous Blake on his arm, all signs say that Markus has the perfect life - that he wants for nothing. But on the eve of Blake’s long-awaited return from Los Angeles, Markus ignores her calls and texts. Unable to get out of bed, he traces the veins on his wrist with a razor blade. When Blake emails threatening to cancel her trip, Markus calls her back immediately, and we learn hot and cold swings have been a hallmark of his relationships with loved ones dating back to childhood. With years of first-hand experience, Blake hangs up on him as he negotiates for her visit, insisting she won’t be tortured anymore. Markus goes berserk. Now Blake won’t answer his calls. Desperate, he sinks to new lows to win her back, and as good memories outweigh bad, Blake rushes to catch her flight to New York, where two days later Markus will be in the hospital, arrested in possession of a handgun, and Blake will be missing.

As Blake arrives in NYC, Markus pampers his girlfriend, and sets out to show her the perfect weekend. He takes her to get couples massages. They make love. And Markus proves he’ll do anything to get Blake tickets to her favorite Broadway show. After he’s embarrassed by a Craigslist scam, Markus joins the theater’s waitlist line - a last ditch effort. But when Blake is late to meet him, Markus abandons her at the theater. Later Blake finds him outside, and she has good news. They got tickets! Now uninterested in the show, Markus lambastes her with accusations that bring Blake to tears in the middle of the packed theater lobby. And, as if that’s all he needed, Markus dotes on Blake as they settle into their seats.

After the show, Markus encourages Blake to shower and change before they meet her friends. Exhausted, Blake lays down for a cat nap first. And suddenly Markus charges her again! Too drained to contend with the same argument again, Blake opts to go to sleep for the night. But this only enrages Markus more. He rips the bedsheets off of her, and she repays him with a closed fist across his face. Reflexively, Markus kicks Blake out of the apartment. But when she tries to leave, he blocks her exit and demands an apology. Trapped in this perilous cycle, Blake finally breaks up with Markus, admitting she can’t love him anymore.

She puts on her jacket and reaches for the apartment door, but Markus tackles Blake to the floor. Kicking and screaming, Blake breaks loose, and dials 9-1-1, but Markus rips the phone away, and drags her into the bedroom. As he ties her arms and legs to the bed, Blake shrieks for help. Markus gags her mouth, and presses the barrel of his Sig Sauer P365 against her forehead. He begs Blake to understand, “I know you love me. This was just a mistake.” Blake is unconvinced, so Markus turns the gun on himself, and pleads with her to stay the night. Helpless and afraid, she agrees under the condition he unties her. He does, and quickly spoons around her body. As they fall asleep, Blake springs out of bed and runs for her life. Steps behind, Markus chases--

Handcuffed to a hospital chair the next morning, a doctor questions Markus, “I need you to tell me what happened with Blake last night.” Markus feigns ignorance, adamant he did nothing wrong. The doctor pushes, “I promise I’ll help you Markus, if you just tell me where she is.” As Markus devolves in anger, “I don’t need your help!”, it’s clear he won’t give any answers, but we are left to see the state of all of Markus’s loved ones, including Blake.

Because if love were a drug, perfect little boys would grow up to be monsters of men.