Surgical Affairs

The primary rule of the medical profession states that first, a physician must do no harm to his patient, but this emotionally wrought medical malpractice drama turns that most fundamental medical principle inside-out by pitting a greedy, philandering surgeon against his bookkeeper/mistress in a fantastic scam to defraud his hospital and medical insurance company. Together they commit the perfect crime -- readily detectible but almost unprovable, for who would ever believe that a respected surgeon would deliberately sew up a large, dangerously sharp suture needle inside his trusting, unknowing lover?

In the steamy tradition of Double Indemnity and Body Heat, as well as the more recent hit, Malice, this mercenary pair plunge into a medical maelstrom from which neither will emerge again with their mental and physical health intact! How far would you go for a million dollars? Would you allow a "bad blade" to carve an unessential organ out of your abdomen for a chance at the really big bucks? If you were a middle-aged beauty, would you let your love for your fatherless son propel you onto an operating table in hopes of procuring for him that rosier college-educated future you never had?

Adrienne Rush decides to brave this gravest of risks as she merges her battered body and soul with Dr. Dan DeLillo, a devil in a surgical gown, in this dazzling medical crime. Together they anesthetize their morals and medical ethics for one last bold grab for the Almighty Dollar, but at what irreparable damage to their relationship, careers and personal health? Justice, of course, eventually triumphs, but at what a cost!

Original 4-hour teleplay for a TV miniseries available from Hoodwinks Productions in Los Angeles (310-578-5404).