Beyond the Mask

Inciting Event: Will Reynolds refuses to continue working as an assassin for the East India company, resulting in his attempted murder. He assumes the identity of a vicar and is rescued from his wounds by a wealthy young woman named Charlotte.

First Plot Point: He agrees to meet Charlotte’s uncle, so he can earn his approval, only to find out that her uncle is the head of the East India Company. After a harrowing escape from Charlotte’s uncle, Will is determined to prove to her that he’s a changed man and sets out to Philadelphia.

First Pinch Point: In Philadelphia, Will learns the East India Company is inciting chaos, burning patriot shops, using explosive devices based on one of Benjamin Franklin’s inventions.

Midpoint: Will becomes “the Highwayman,” a masked man who protects the patriots and fights the East India Company.

Second Pinch Point: In his attempt to thwart a plotted assassination of George Washington, he is framed and captured, sentenced to be hanged at dawn.

Third Plot Point: Charlotte discovers her uncle’s plan to bomb the entire city, which would effectively stop the signing of the Declaration on Independence.

Climax: Charlotte is kidnapped by her uncle while Will finds barrels of gunpowder hidden beneath the floor of the building where Congress meets.

Climactic Moment: Will rescues Charlotte. Just as her uncle lunges towards him, Will steps out of the way, causing her uncle to fall onto a piece of electrical equipment, electrocuting himself.

Resolution: For his crimes committed when he was a mercenary, Will is loaded into a barred carriage. Charlotte goes with him. He proposes to her and Charlotte accepts. In the carriage, he finds a note from Benjamin Franklin saying that he’s not being taken to prison but to Franklin’s home.

(Submitted by Elizabeth Newsome, edited by K.M. Weiland.)

Sign Up Today

hwba sidebar pic

Sign up to receive K.M. Weiland’s e-letter and receive her free e-book Crafting Unforgettable Characters: A Hands-On Introduction to Bringing Your Characters to Life.