Neon Lights (Luces de neón)

A botched heist from years ago and a hidden fortune bring an relentless investigator into collision with a gang of criminals willing to do anything to reclaim what is theirs.

The story opens with a brutal act of violence. Pablo Gorland, an Argentine businessman and owner of a decaying hotel-casino in Atlántida, Uruguay, is savagely beaten on the beach. His ambitious renovation project has stirred suspicion among workers, lawyers, and even his own sister, Irene, who questions his financial dealings. One night, a group of men assaults him and leaves him for dead, warning him to abandon the property. Pablo falls into a coma in a Montevideo hospital. Refusing to wait for justice, Irene hires Harrison Rey, a private investigator with a murky past and lethal methods, to find—and eliminate—those responsible.

As Rey investigates, he uncovers a buried secret tied to the hotel-casino. Years earlier, the casino was the setting of a major robbery whose stolen fortune was never recovered. Among those involved were Soria, El Colorado Echeveste, and Víctor Maldonado. Their insider was Julieta, a casino croupier and Soria’s lover, who provided critical information for the heist. The plan was daring: infiltrate the casino, overpower the guards and cashiers, conceal the money behind interior panels, and retrieve it later. What Echeveste and Maldonado never suspected was that Soria and Julieta intended to keep the entire fortune for themselves.

On the day of the robbery, Soria and Echeveste storm the casino’s cash room wearing masks. Omar, a security guard, recognizes Soria as Julieta’s partner and says his name aloud—a fatal mistake. To silence him, Soria kills him on the spot. The gunshots alert everyone in the building. Although the gang manages to hide the money inside the casino walls, their escape descends into chaos. A violent shootout erupts; Echeveste is killed, Soria is wounded and arrested, and Maldonado barely escapes.

Years later, while serving his sentence, Soria receives an unexpected visit from lawyer Bentancor, acting on behalf of Julieta Martínez. Julieta is dead, but she has left a cryptic message: “I never moved it. Don’t worry—it doesn’t rot.” The fortune remains hidden exactly where it was left. Soria keeps the secret to himself and warns Bentancor against searching for it. In prison, he befriends Fermín, a young inmate who becomes fiercely loyal to him.

After his release, Soria reunites with Maldonado and Fermín to recover the missing fortune. Returning to the ruined hotel-casino, they discover that the money is no longer where they left it. Then Soria finally understands Julieta’s message. “It doesn’t rot.” The cash was hidden inside the casino’s industrial cold-storage room.

As the trio descends into the abandoned kitchens to retrieve the fortune, they are unaware that Harrison Rey has already uncovered their plan and is following them. Rey catches up with them, and a violent shootout erupts. Fermín is killed. Maldonado is wounded. Soria retreats into the freezing darkness of the cold-storage chamber, with Rey pursuing him.

Before dying, however, Maldonado manages one final act: he seals the chamber door, trapping both Rey and Soria inside.

Suddenly, hunter and prey must work together if they hope to survive. Facing certain death from the cold, they build a fire using scraps of wood, rags—and portions of the stolen money itself. Beyond the chamber walls lies only silence.

As temperatures drop and tensions rise, a final question remains: will anyone come to rescue them, or will their last battle be fought not against each other, but against the freezing darkness?

RELEVANT INFORMATION: Rodolfo Santullo is a Uruguayan journalist, novelist, comic-book writer, and screenwriter whose work has been published internationally in Argentina, Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Spain, Germany, and China.

Neon Lights is a noir thriller that combines action, suspense, and constant twists with a cast of morally ambiguous characters rooted in a criminal underworld. Through its fragmented structure and alternating timelines, the novel gradually reveals the secrets of a failed heist while maintaining a high level of tension. The result is a gripping crime story filled with betrayal, greed, and survival, offering outstanding audiovisual potential as an intense, character-driven thriller with a distinctly cinematic atmosphere.

AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series – Miniseries – Film – TV Movie

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish.