Beneath the Neon Veil

Julian, a 27-year-old British blackjack dealer with a sharp wit and a guarded smile, works the night shift at The Mirage, a mid-tier casino where dreams unravel. He shares a cramped apartment with Marcus, a 34-year-old pit boss who gave him a home after Julian’s devout London family disowned him for coming out five years ago. Their bond, once mentorship, has bloomed into love, confessed over a quiet drink just weeks ago. At The Mirage, Claire, a 28-year-old cocktail server with a venomous edge, blames Marcus for reporting her tip-skimming a year back, which cost her a high-roller lounge gig—and the cash to cover her brother’s medical debt. Her uncle, Victor, the casino’s security chief, resents Marcus for exposing his rigged slot scheme three years prior, derailing his career. When Claire learns Marcus gave Julian a $5,000 casino voucher for rent—money she needed for her brother—she and Victor frame Julian for stealing chips, planting marked cards, a doctored video, and a fake cash drop. Julian’s fired, Marcus falters, and Vegas’s neon haze cloaks a brewing storm.