When the story begins two of the major characters, Charles Croker and Conrad Hensley, are on opposite sides of the country in very different environments, although in time the trajectories of their lives will bring them together. Charlie Croker in Atlanta is sixty, a former college football star who is still a 235-pound "bull of a man," especially proud of the muscles of his back, neck, and shoulders. He is a real estate developer who has helped to create the downtown Atlanta skyline, is married to a gorgeous young second wife, and has been living a life of conspicuous consumption. However, trouble looms because his latest project, Croker Concourse, a huge mixed-use development on the outer perimeter of the city, is a flop and he now owes lenders $800 million that he cannot repay. PlannersBanc, his principal lender, wants him to cut back on expenses and sell some of...