A near-future family saga spanning eighteen tumultuous years that redefine the nature of the United States explores the aftershocks of an economically devastating debt default and its impact on a once-prosperous American family.

Four men who predicted the mid-2000s financial crisis attempt to make it big by using the "credit default swap" innovation.

In 1929, when Edward and Eleanor’s otherwise perfectly healthy daughter develops debilitating epileptic seizures, her shameful illness must be hidden or Edward’s life work will be in jeopardy and the family’s honor will be shattered, in this richly drawn portrait of a family torn apart by shame, deceit, and dangerous ideals.