Defining Virtue

Zack Virtue is unemployed, his boss is dead, and his ex-girlfriend has a crazy scheme to get rich by stealing his boss’s treasure, which may or may not exist. The only things to look forward to are a date with a coffee shop waitress and a community art show.

Zack Virtue is at a crossroads. Should he become a full-time artist, or get a real job. Unfortunately, he has to clear his name of his former boss’s murder first. A comedy-noir thriller that’s like if Fletch met Travis McGee, and they started fighting.

Coming in 2026

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There’s this place in Ontario called Silicon Valley of the North. Like its American counterpart, they have world-leading innovation and startups there … but things aren’t quite right. Maybe it’s a little too Canadian. Sleepy country towns, a dark history, and a contempt for others hidden by a thick veneer of politeness. Don’t let the small-town vibe fool you.

Weird things happen up there. Much of the time, they happen to Zack Virtue.

Zack is a 30-something veteran with dreams of making it big as an artist before his money runs out.

To make matters worse, his old boss, a billionaire high-tech icon, is murdered, and Zack has plenty of motive, if not motivation. With his ad-hoc team of an ex-girlfriend, a rockstar software developer, and a coffee-shop waitress, Zack tries to clear his name and possibly score a secret treasure—a fever-dream of a mad genius. Being harassed by the police is bad enough, but could one of his friends be a murderer?

Yes. Yes they could.

PRAISE FOR Defining Virtue:

“Definitely like if Fletch sucker punched Travis McGee.”

— Everyman Journal