Human Capital

It's the spring of 2001. Drew Hagel has spent the last decade watching things slip away - his marriage, his real estate brokerage, and his beloved daughter, Shannon, now a distant and mysterious high school senior. But, as summer approaches, Drew forms an unexpected friendship with Quint Manning, the manager of a secretive hedge fund. Drew sees the friendship leading to vast, frictionless wealth, but Drew doesn't know that Manning has problems of his own: his Midas touch is abandoning him, his restless wife has grown disillusioned, and his hard-drinking son is careening out of control. As the fortunes of three families collide, a terrible accident gives Drew the leverage he needs to stay in the game.

But what are the consequences of speculating with human lives rather than money?

Chosen by The Washington Post as one of the five best works of fiction of 2004, Human Capital is a touching, suspenseful novel about three families that chronicles the American suburban dream with devastating accuracy, by acclaimed author Stephen Amidon.

'Amidon's absorbing novel is distinguished above all by its taut, compelling plot, one hinged by intriguing moral ambiguities' The Sunday Times

'A brilliant examination of the undertow of sadness and desperation that tugs at the American dream' New Statesman

'An unflinching social commentary that has the potential to endure as a clear and literate portrait of its time' Observer