back to HOME

Galatea, is a character driven, Mystery - Romance - Art House Genre. It is the story of a young woman who poses as a naive artist in order to make amends of her past.

The story opens with Rochelle (our protagonist) delivering a valuable artifact. The car she was operating without permission has been totaled, and the delivery is missing. She must report to Eric, her immediate supervisor. He, in turn, sends her to the owner of the art gallery where she works. The meeting with Dimitri Popov turns ugly, as Rochelle is strip searched and interrogated. It becomes clear that she does not have the artifact on her person. She is kept under house arrest with Walter, her former teacher. She must now work restoring paintings until the missing artifact is recovered.

We then meet Masako, an Asian forger, who is working out of her cramped studio. Eric asks her to inquire about the stolen painting fragment.

We now are at the heart of our story. Walter (our Pygmallion) has not seen his Galatea (Rochelle in this story) for ten years. There is friction between the two. The "statue" has grown into a beautiful accomplished artist. The "sculptor" has spent time in behind bars.

We learn from Masako that the missing fragment was part of a Da Vinci painting. Rather than merely restoring the painting, a copy was made and the original pieces were kept.

Popov decides that Rochelle shall serve as moderator at the auction. He releases her from house arrest, thinking she will return to her small apartment. She chooses instead to go to her real home. She decides to run and asks Walter to meet her there.

Eric realizes that Rochelle is not the naive young thing she pretends to be and discovers her at her lavish house at night, while she is in the pool. There is a scuffle between the two, and he presumes her to have drowned. But Walter appears in time to drag her from the pool, administer CPR, and take her to his house. There we learn of the depth of their relationship and the importance of the missing fragment. Walter convinces Rochelle to help him at the auction.

back to HOME