UC Riverside

This thesis contains the first three chapters of a novel entitled "Hanging Gardens."

"Hanging Gardens" tells the story of Paul Cronin, an aimless MBA student in his late twenties who returns home to Philadelphia after his parents' double suicide to take ownership of their real estate holdings: a single seven-story apartment building in a run-down part of the city.

After receiving privileged information from a family member involved in state politics that Pennsylvania is on the verge of legalizing marijuana, Paul teams up with his childhood friend Matt Savitz, who has spent his 20s becoming a successful drug dealer with a legitmate front as a small business owner, to transform the former apartment building into a marijuana grow house and dispensary so that they can be on the cusp of the new market once the drug is legalized.

But when past and present entanglements catch up to them, Paul and Matt find themselves in a financial hole that puts their friendship and their lives at risk.