ROOF OF THE WORLD
An epic story of love, betrayal, and intrigue played out in the drawing rooms of London and the snow-capped peaks of Central Asia. In the spring of 1870, the Haywards, an affluent British family await the arrival of their new family member: the wife of George Hayward, currently on expedition in Asia for the Royal Geographical Society. Expecting a fine young woman of aristocratic lineage, they are thrown off kilter when Safia Hayward, a young Indian woman disembarks the ship.
Part spy thriller, part Victorian drama, ROOF follows Safia, a woman with a mysterious past, as she tries to save her husband from a perilous mission. Though she has withstood sword fights with horse thieves, battles with warriors, and imprisonment by the Emir of Kashgar, Safia is unprepared for London aristocracy, a world mined with its own hazards. As cultures collide, Safia plays an adventurous game of suspense, creating a whirlwind of intrigue that leaves a life altering mark on each of the Haywards.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
GEORGE HAYWARD Late 30's. British explorer for the Royal Geographical Society (RGS). Based on the real-life George Hayward, a true adventurer whose cunning feats of derring-do and espionage make him a hero to those in command and an upstart rebel to his family. Married to Safia, brother to Edward, son to Charlotte, uncle to Martin.
SAFIA HAYWARD Late 20's. Married to George. Indian woman of mixed heritage, proud, strong, self-sufficient, adventurous, and fierce. Having left her home as a young girl, she finds a creative way to survive in a hostile world until her marriage to George introduces her to what may become her greatest challenge, being a woman.
EDWARD HAYWARD Early 40's. George Hayward's older brother. Calculating, overbearing and crafty in his deceit. A finance man with little respect for adventure but great sense of entitlement and duty to himself and his family, in that order. Engaged to Pru.
PRU SIDWELL Early 30’s. Possesses a plain sort of beauty. Good-hearted and gently strong. She’s forward-thinking, but very aware of the limits imposed on her by Victorian society. She struggles internally between her sense of place and her desire to do something meaningful. Once George's intended, now engaged to Edward.
MARTIN HAYWARD Late teens. George's nephew, Edward's son. Artistic and full of dreams, enthusiastic about the rapidly changing world, yet just shy of being ready to enter it as a man. Adores his Uncle George.
CHARLOTTE HAYWARD Sixties. Mother to George and Edward. The family matriarch, firmly planted in decorum, propriety, and the ways of Old England. Queenly and proud, self-assertive, and fearful of the swiftly changing world.
ROBERT SHAW Early 40's. Best friend to George Hayward. A capitalist to the bone, he is among the adventurous Brits who sees the bold economic future of the Raj and is willing to deal with despots to advance his fortune. He is a bit of a rogue, yet goodhearted, and therefore cannot escape feeling duty-bound to his best friend and his wife.
SIR HENRY RAWLINSON Sixties. President of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) in London. A former military officer and explorer for the Raj, Rawlinson is regal in his bearing and clearly a man of action. He is a bold colonialist, a firm believer that England must check Russia's advancement into South Asia and is willing to involve the RGS in that cause.
YOUNG WOMAN/MOLLY/PROSTITUTE Age range: Early 20 to 30's.
Young Woman: George and Safia's great great-granddaughter. A physician who, in 1967 discovers that one of George's painting was purchased at a Bombay bazaar and is soon to be sold at a public auction. She will do whatever she can to prevent the sale and bring the painting back to where it belongs – his beloved India. Light Hindi accent.
Molly: The Hayward's saucy parlor maid. Dutiful to the family, but more interested in Martin than her daily chores. Working class British accent.
Prostitute: Downtrodden capitalist. Cockney accent.