Face of Deceit

Desmond Kendall, a Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer,
cheats, extorts, embezzles and seduces to become governor of California.

Synopsis

This story spans some 15 years in the lives of five years in the lives of five people-- two males and three females--all neighbors and friends in Beverly Hills, as our narrative begins. They are Rudy Brandon, 18, intelligent and studious; Lani Fleming, 13, precocious and athletic; Lani's girlfriend and sometime sex partner, Shane Larkin, 15; the very handsome high school hero, Desmond Kendall, 18; and Adele Alden, a 17-year-old social climber, whose house just beyond the Beverly Hills city limits prevents her from attending Beverly Hills High School, a daily reminder that she "does not belong."

Rudy and Desmond are best friends and, following high school graduation, pursue their pre-law studies at UCLA. Along the way, we learn of the many disagreeable aspects of Desmond's character, not the least of which is the contempt he has for women. Capitalizing on his dashing good looks, this lay'em and leave'em stud stoops to a new low early on when he impregnates Maxine Eichner as she lies unconscious in a drunken stupor, an act witnessed by Adele who, as fate would have it, has her own designs on Desmond. Naturally, Desmond denies paternity when Maxine confronts him with an anonymous note (actually sent to her by the devious Adele detailing the incident).

When Desmond's application for Rhodes Scholarship to continue his studies at Oxford University is denied, he prevails upon his parents to pay for his education at the hallowed English institution.

At Oxford, Desmond continues to work his sexual athleticism on various English classes. Before he completes his studies his father suffers a heart attack and dies. With his source of funds cut off, Desmond quickly woos and weds the homely heiress, Elizabeth Pheel, daughter of the Baron of Bridgehope. Pregnant when they marry, Elizabeth suffers a miscarriage. She soon begins to see her relationship with Desmond suffer as well.

With his Oxford degree in hand, Desmond eschews law school in England, which has been offered him by Lord Pheel, in favor of Harvard Law School. Meanwhile, Adele, realizing that marriage to Desmond is temporarily out of the question, accepts a marriage proposal from Rudy, who has long been attracted to her. After all, her future must be considered.

At Adele and Rudy's wedding reception, Desmond introduces Elizabeth to his old Beverly Hills crowd. Adele uses the occasion to remind Desmond of his years-ago promise to marry her. "But you're now married to my best friend," he protests weakly. "But I'm in love with you," she counters. There is a tacit understanding between the two that they will resume in secret their affair begun so many years earlier.

It is six years later and Desmond and Elizabeth have relocated to Los Angeles where Desmond has begun a lucrative law practice, in addition to having been elected to the Beverly Hills City Council. Rudy also is practicing law, but less successfully as his friend. At Adele's suggestion, the old buddies soon join forces in a law partnership, with Rudy agreeing to handle the greater share of the office workload while Desmond solicits legal clients as he pursues a political career. Desmond gambles at the race track and at Las Vegas. He also continues his romance with Adele, keeping an apartment in Century City for their love next.

One night, Desmond, too drunk to be driving, has a collision with a sports car. Cindy Savage, the nation's top female rock singer, is the driver of the other car. Cindy, neighborhood tomboy he and Rudy used to shoot basketball with so many years ago.

Cindy tells Desmond she needs a good entertainment opportunity, tells her that entertainment law is his specialty and agrees to take Cindy on as a client. Always a quick study, Desmond, knowing nothing of entertainment law, goes to the law library and pores over books on that specialty. Soon, Cindy refers many of her friends to Desmond.

In keeping with his expanding business, Desmond and Elizabeth move to a 34-room colonial style mansion in Bel Air. Rudy and Adele move in to Desmond's previous house in Beverly Hills.

Cindy's dad, Martin Fleming, a CPA, joins the Kendall & Brandon law firm to handle the accounting. Martin brings the investment account of Tam and Peter Larkin, also neighbors and parents of Shane, in to the firm to manage it.

Cindy's record company insists that she change her male escorts. She invites Desmond to accompany her to a movie premiere. It is a good move for the politically ambitious Desmond, for it gives him high visibility in his campaign to become Mayor. He is elected.

Learning of Desmond's secret trysting place and of his liaisons, Elizabeth leaves her husband and returns to England. Still in love with Desmond, she agrees to send him a monthly living allowance, but refuses to support financially his political ambitions. She also says that, to win his race for the state governorship.

Without Elizabeth's money for his campaign coffers, Desmond, more determined than ever in his single-minded pursuit for the state's highest office, embezzles money from his law clients' trust accounts, money he intends to replace when the donations start rolling in. Unfortunately, his campaign expenses outrun the donations, forcing Desmond to solicit funds from a pair of Mafia types, Angelo Genori and Julio Benedetto, whom he has met during his many gambling excursions to Las Vegas.

Desmond receives his party's gubernatorial nomination and wins the governor's seat, but his financial machinations have placed him in to a precarious situation. Elizabeth returns from England to stand at his side, but refuses to help him with money unless he makes a commitment to live with her in England after his term as governor. In a rare moment of honesty, he refuses.

Despite some financial help from Cindy, the problem is exacerbated when the mobsters begin to demand repayment. To meet their demands, Desmond sells some securities belonging to Tam and Peter Larkin, who are out of the country. Returning to Los Angeles unannounced, the Larkings tell Desmond they need to convert some of their securities to cash to cover an international investment.

Desmond arranges with Benedetto for a "hit" man to eliminate Peter Larkin when he (Peter) presses Desmond for the money. Unfortunately, it is Tam Larkin who is killed, not Peter, when a bomb rigged to their car explodes.

Adele begins pressing Desmond to divorce Elizabeth so they can be married. When he refuses, she sabotages a loan Desmond had hoped to get from Ruby. She also tell Rudy that Desmond is stealing from the firm and that an audit of the books is in order. At the same time, Martin Fleming, the CPA (and Cindy's father) discovers that Desmond has misappropriated huge sums of money belonging to Cindy.

With his world collapsing, Desmond make a desperate, last ditch plea to Elizabeth. He goes to Bridgehope. There, Elizabeth, Lord Pheel and Sir Edmond Toller, the family solicitor, confront Desmond with an audiotape recording of a damaging conversation between him and Adele. He is thunderstruck as he hears himself tell Adele that he never loved Elizabeth, that he only married her for the money to keep him at Oxford.

Elizabeth announces her plan to divorce him. There will be no alimony. She will split with him the money brought in from the sale of their Bel Air mansion, which is heavily mortgaged.

Returning to the U.S., Desmond decides to have one last fling at the crap tables in Las Vegas. His is confronted by the mobster, Julio Bebedetto, who refuses to allow him to gamble and demands of him a payment on his overdue account.

Peter Larkin is murdered by the mob, honoring their contract. But it is too late to conceal Desmond's embezzlement.

The Bar Association begins to investigate Desmond because of the missing trust account funds. And guess who heads that investigation: none other than Maxine Eichner, the mother of Desmond's illegitimate daughter. Desmond throws out a red herring claiming that Martin Fleming might have taken the funds.

Desmond believes that if he can survive until installation day, he can thwart all investigations as governor and arrange to obtain sufficient contributions to repay his debts.

Desmond makes a last attempt to borrow funds from Rudy. He finds Adele at home, alone. She refuses to help. Undaunted, he succeeds in seducing her again. Rudy arrives home unexpectedly and catches them in bed. Desmond departs, empty-handed, and Rudy throws Adele out.

Cindy, on a European singing tour and unaware of Desmond's embezzlements and allegations about her father, pays a call on Elizabeth and pleads with her to give Desmond enough money so that he can repay his "campaign loans." Elizabeth agrees, provided that the source of the money be kept from Desmond.

On Cindy's return from Europe and before Elizabeth's money arrives, Desmond implores Cindy to ask Julio Benedetto for more time to repay the mob. When she arrives at Julio's penthouse, Julio informs her that Desmond is trying to implicate her father as the missing funds culprit. He then rapes her and breaks her jaw. During the assault, in her struggle, she grabs his diamond tie clip to use as a weapon.

Rudy and Cindy, still agonizing over the sudden break-ups of their romantic relationships, commiserate together and recognize their mutual attraction.

Shane Larkin, Adele Alden Brandon, Maxine Eichner and Cindy Savage all have good reason to exact revenge on Desmond. Cindy and Shane would like to kill him. Adele and Maxine prefer castration.

Rudy learns that Desmond's life is in danger. He hurries to find Desmond.

Cindy gets to Desmond first. She meets him at his Century City apartment and slips a stiletto in to his belly. Rudy, arriving too late to prevent the murder, call Julio and lures him there by saying that Desmond sold some property and is about to skip out on his debt to Julio. Rudy then calls the police.

Trapped at Desmond's pad, with Desmond lying dead, Julio is charged with murder when the police find his trademark diamond tie clip on Desmond's body.

Elizabeth, back in England, opens a return envelope from Los Angeles from which she extracts a certified check made out to Desmond Kendall in the amount of three million dollars.

In the final scene, Rudy and Cindy move in to their new Malibu home.

For coverage of this teleplay/miniseries, go to Mike.

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