Samuel Hastings is a self-made man and knows it. He started out with nothing and has done anything that it takes to get to where he is today… and keep it.<br/><br/>The owner of more than 10 daily newspapers in profitable markets, 3 successful publishing houses that produce “pulp” magazines as well as more traditional works of fiction and 2 radio stations in the southeast, Sam Hastings is a moving force in the media world and has shown interest in the movie business out west. There have even been rumors that he’s looking hard at running for congress in the next election. Rumors also say that he could make it.<br/><br/>Sam was born in a little town in the middle of no-where Texas in 1899 to a family that barely made ends meet with their share cropper income. Just one of 4 children, Sam was both the youngest and the most difficult. Caught no less than 3 times trying to steal from towns people, he ended up in a school for wayward boys at the age of 10. This would prove to be the beginning of his career of back-door dealings, blackmail, abuse and if rumors might be believed, rape and a murder. By the time that he had gotten out of the home, he, he had been accused of getting a teacher pregnant and was facing real time… but nothing came of the claims and he managed to get a job working in the print room of a local newspaper.<br/><br/>It only took Sam a few weeks to get in good with the bosses daughter, a pretty little thing of 16, and before anyone really knew what had happened, Amelia Hastings was married and expecting her first child. Within 2 years, his father-in-law would mysteriously retire from the newspaper business and leave a 20 year old Sam in charge of the business and the sole heir of it.<br/><br/>Over the next 5 years, Sam managed to aquire another 4 newspapers and while the methods seemed to be the same… work into the family, the owner retires and then he divorces the new wife and kid(s). No one ever dared mention the “affairs” that Sam always seemed to be involved in.<br/><br/>With his foundation firmly set in print, Sam turned to more profitable ventures, taking whatever steps he needed to… quietly… to work his foot in and build his control. Sam was never a stupid man; he never left anything that could be directly linked to him, but he was ambitious and underhanded to an extreme.<br/><br/>Now, suddenly, Sam seems to be a changed man… a pillar of the community and as clean as any Baptist preacher. In an attempt to bury the hatchet with past grievances, he’s contacted several of people he might of wronged in the past and offered a free vacation at a tropical retreat he purchased recently. He’s hinted at the potential of a monetary reimbursement for any wrongs that he’s done… but what are his real motives?<br/><br/>The first sight of the island that is the retreat of Mr. Samuel Hastings, Media Giant of North America is a lush, beautiful beach backed by vibrant green foliage and colorful blooms of every hue imaginable. A manicured path of white stone leads off into the well manicured gardens and grassy expanse of the yard; a large, stone residence that could only be described as a mansion sits in the mist of the lovely expanse like a keep presiding over it's domain. In spite of this, the structure is one of elegance and wealth in it's place of dominence.