Character Relationship Map: Finder's Fee

Characters

• Tepper (played by Erik Palladino) — protagonist

  The protagonist who discovers a lost wallet containing a $6 million winning lottery ticket. He decides to keep the ticket while contacting the owner, and is preparing to propose to his girlfriend on a...

• Fishman (played by Matthew Lillard) — protagonist

  One of Tepper's close friends and a consistent member of their weekly poker night group.

• Quigley (played by Ryan Reynolds) — supporting

  One of Tepper's close friends and a regular participant in their weekly poker night.

• Bolan (played by Dash Mihok) — supporting

  One of Tepper's close friends and a regular participant in their weekly poker night.

• Avery Phillips (played by James Earl Jones) — supporting

  The original owner of the lost wallet. After being contacted by Tepper to retrieve it, he unexpectedly shows up at the poker game to play a hand, becoming the central figure of the unfolding drama.

• Carla (played by Carly Pope) — supporting

  Tepper's girlfriend, as he explicitly plans to propose to her during this particular stormy night.

• The Real Avery (played by Nathaniel DeVeaux) — minor

  A character whose existence suggests a potential twist or identity duality related to the wallet owner Avery Phillips, likely tied to the lottery ticket's origin or a case of mistaken identity.

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Tepper → Carla (Romantic Boyfriend) — Their relationship is central to Tepper's personal decision-making and final regret.

  Tepper tells his friends that he plans to propose to Carla that evening, while Carla later says she is tired and leaves.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Tepper → The Real Avery (Narrative Identity Revelation) — The final appearance complicates the presumed identity of the wallet owner.

  After Avery Phillips leaves and Tepper says he kept the ticket for him, the real Avery appears.

• Quigley → Avery Phillips (Conflict Aggressor) — Quigley becomes physically violent toward Avery during the breakdown of the game.

  After revealing the ticket deception, Quigley breaks a chair over Avery's head.

• Bolan → Avery Phillips (Social Recognized Acquaintance) — Bolan has prior knowledge of Avery's work and background.

  Bolan recognizes Avery as a bus driver and later identifies him as someone who taught fire safety at the camp where Bolan works.

• Fishman → Avery Phillips (Social Game Advocate) — Fishman draws Avery into the group's ritual and intensifies the central dilemma.

  Fishman insists that Avery play in the poker game after Avery remains at the apartment.

• Tepper → Avery Phillips (Unknown Wallet Owner And Finder) — Their connection is created by the lost wallet and its valuable contents.

  Tepper finds Avery Phillips's wallet, calls the number inside, and discovers that it contains the winning lottery ticket.

• Quigley → Bolan (Alliance Teammate) — Their cooperation is limited by the winner-takes-all game.

  Quigley and Bolan play in the same freezeout poker game and take part in the group's shared rules.

• Fishman → Bolan (Alliance Teammate) — They belong to the same recurring social circle.

  Both attend and participate in the group's weekly poker night.

• Fishman → Quigley (Alliance Teammate) — They share membership in the poker group, though the game makes them competitors.

  Fishman and Quigley play together in the same weekly freezeout poker game with Tepper and Bolan.

• Tepper → Bolan (Social Close Friend) — Bolan participates in the group's rituals and later arbitrates a dispute.

  Bolan is one of the regular friends attending the weekly poker night with Tepper.

• Tepper → Quigley (Social Close Friend) — Their friendship is strained when Quigley exposes Tepper's deception.

  Quigley arrives for the weekly poker game, and the group initially tries to preserve its friendships during the ticket dispute.

• Tepper → Fishman (Social Close Friend) — They are members of the same long-standing poker group.

  Fishman arrives for the group's weekly poker night, and the plot identifies him as one of Tepper's close friends.

Story Analysis

A found lottery ticket turns a friendly poker night into a test of honesty, loyalty, deception, and responsibility.

Plot Progression

1. The Ticket in the Wallet — Tepper finds a wallet containing a six-million-dollar winning lottery ticket. His friends arrive for poker while he prepares to contact the wallet's owner and propose to Carla.
2. An Unexpected Player — Avery Phillips arrives and unexpectedly stays for the group's darts and poker rituals. The building lockdown traps everyone together and makes Tepper's secret harder to protect.
3. Rules at the Table — Avery's background and financial hardship emerge while the friends argue over whether the lottery tickets belong in the pot. A strict rule makes every movement during the game dangerous.
4. Cheating and Exposure — Tepper secretly uses a duplicate deck and tries to engineer a winning hand. Suspicious cards and Quigley's accusations expose the deception and the group's prior knowledge of the numbers.
5. The Cost of Keeping It — Quigley attacks Avery, Carla leaves after Tepper ignores her, and the winning ticket is handed over for safekeeping. Tepper later claims he preserved the ticket for Avery before the real Avery appears...