A penniless publisher teetering on the brink: Hugh Emerson runs a small, prestigious publishing house. But literature doesn't pay the bills, and now his bestselling author is the subject of a salacious story in the gutter press. A newspaper dynasty struggling to survive: Ned Macaulay, heir to a newspaper fortune and Hugh's best friend, steps in to help. But Ned has problems of his own. The family firm faces bankruptcy, and to save it he must outsmart the self-serving sycophants at Waring's bank. Ruthless bankers closing in for the kill: Hugh and Ned are about to be dragged into a cutthroat world of devious investors and muck-raking journalists. It's darker and dirtier than they ever imagined—and if they want to succeed, they'll have to play dirty too. . .