In 1866, a tragedy occurred at the English private school Windfield - one of the students drowned under mysterious circumstances. Only a few of his comrades witnessed the incident...This is the first link in a chain of events that stretched for many decades and affected many destinies. A chain of events stretching through closed "clubs for gentlemen" and dirty brothels, through luxurious ballrooms and offices in the City of London, where Victorian financiers were deciding the fate not only of the empire, but of the whole world. Ken Follett has created an exciting saga about a family with ambitions and passions, united by a dangerous legacy the truth about what really happened at Windfield School many years ago.