The Keys

It’s a journey of riches to rags to personal triumph that includes living among the "Venice Car People". Find, The Keys!

It was New Year's Eve 2007, and Gloria West was on top of the world. For her outstanding 2006-2007 car sales record, she was awarded a 2008 luxury sedan. Then the U.S. auto industry, stock market, and housing industry collapsed. To survive, Sam Harris, Gloria's boss, needed to rebrand his Illinois auto dealership. His primary customer base had shifted to young adults looking for economy cars. Most people in Gloria's luxury car-loving network had retired and moved to warmer climates.

Virtually overnight, Gloria went from being Sam's most valuable employee to an unbearable economic drain . . . that is according to Sam's envious nephew, recent MBA recipient Lawrence Anderson. His contagious age discrimination infected Sam, and in November 2008 Sam laid Gloria off from work indefinitely. Full of pride, but low on money by the Spring of 2010, Gloria drove to Los Angeles and despite having good friends nearby, lived among the "Venice Car People", a community of homeless people sheltered by their cars.

Gloria's 2008 luxury sedan and its keys come to symbolize the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. They assist Gloria in finding keys to surviving betrayal, dire economic hardships, and even her own death. By the end of Gloria's journey, the "key" to ensuring the meaning she wants for her life on earth is Zoe Harris, an aspiring lawyer and daughter of Sam Harris, Gloria's estranged friend and former boss.