William Blackwell

The Strap William Blackwell

When Gray Eagleson remembers the strap, it brings back horrific images of pain, suffering and humiliation in the public school system. When he thinks of money, he realizes how little of it he has since getting laid off from a public relations job. When he recalls relationships, the painful memory of how his long-time girlfriend cheated on him with his so-called best friend surfaces. His confidence at an all-time low, he decides a trip to Ecuador, the most bio-diverse country on the planet, is exactly what he needs to take his mind off his problems. Before departing, he connects with Adriana Enrique on an internet dating site, promising to meet her on his arrival. He also helps his best friend Derrick Richmond evict some biker tenants involved in a marijuana grow-operation in one of Derrick's rental properties. During the eviction, one of the bikers, Stuart Treblecoch, aka The Strap, threatens to kill Gray for tossing biker belongings into a blazing backyard inferno. Arriving in Ecuador, he soon discovers the idyllic vacation has turned into a life-and-death struggle. The Strap is hunting him down, Adriana's behavior casts a black shadow of doubt over his optimistic expectations and he meets a Canadian woman, Abby Taylor, who wants his help evicting violent squatters who have overrun a hotel she purchased in the beach town of Atacames. As the nail-biting tension and violence ratchet up, Gray believes a visit with a shaman and an experience with the mind-altering and spiritually enlightening drug ayuahuasca is his only hope for salvation. The Strap ushers you full-throttle deep inside the exotic sights and sounds of Ecuador while also exposing the very real dangers that exist. Through Gray's harrowing journey for redemption, survival and sanity, we discover the frailties and insecurities of the human condition and the ever-present need for companionship at the root of human nature.