Shankar Vedantam

Tinseltown was shiny and bright and full of the kind of transformative stories that Riley loved.

He arrived there with his common-law wife and his young daughter, Stasia.

For a while, he thrived in his new role as Riley Shepard, family man.

But like most things in Riley's life, it didn't last.

After all these years, Stasia still fixates on the memory of that old man's telephone call.

Stasia says it was a turning point in her relationship with her father.

That night, she confronted him.

But the next morning, Riley did what came naturally to him.

He turned on the charm.

He tried to smooth things over.

He made Stasha pancakes.

He told her the encyclopedia was going to make a lot of money and that his investors would get paid.

Stasha wanted to believe him.

Stasha didn't know how much money her dad owed, but she got the sense he was constantly evading creditors.

She tells one story of calling home to get a ride.

Riley took every shortcut he could to make a buck.

For a time, he wrote porn...

under the pseudonym Zachary Quill.

One of his books?

Glowing Heat.