America at its most gaudy, greedy, and ruthless era forms the setting of The Financier. Frank Cowperwood, the hero of this novel, is more than a match for his times. As he deals and double-deals, betrays and is in turn betrayed, Cowperwood emerges as the very embodiment of animal egotism and appetite, hungering for a fulfillment he himself cannot name, restlessly seeking it in wealth, in women, in power. His climb to success becomes the American success story stripped down to brutal realities - a struggle for spoils without conscience, pity, or even final purpose.