A penniless publisher teetering on the brink...

Thirty-something Hugh Emerson seems to have it all: a glamorous barrister wife and his own highly regarded publishing house. But literature doesn't pay the bills, and Hugh is in serious financial trouble - even before his bestselling author gets involved in a tabloid scandal.

A newspaper dynasty struggling to survive...

Fortunately there's someone loyal and generous enough to bail Hugh out: Ned Macaulay, scion of a powerful newspaper dynasty and Hugh's best friend. But Ned has problems of his own. The family firm is on the brink of bankruptcy, and if he is to save it, Ned must not only confront his despotic father, but defeat the self-serving sycophants of Waring's investment bank.

Ruthless bankers closing in for the kill...

Dragged into a cut-throat circle of devious investors and muck-raking journalists, Hugh and Ned enter a world that is darker and dirtier than they ever imagined. But if they want to succeed, then they might have to play dirty too.
In times like these, once you're in for a penny, you're in for a pound.