Bad money - Louise Patten

Mary Kersey, the breadwinner in her family, juggles her job as a high-flying management consultant at Lock Chase with trying to be a good mother to her 8-year-old daughter Grace and keeping Trister, her husband's ancestral home in Suffolk, in a decent state of repair. It is enough to challenge the most organised of women. When the headmistress of Grace's boarding school calls to say that Grace is acutely homesick and should come home, the demands on Mary's time and energy become almost overwhelming.

Dr Alan Dove is CEO of biotechnology company, Pneumatech. He wants to buy a competitor who specialises in cosmetics, F-ACE. They'd be a perfect fit if only he could afford them. Enter Ivan Strawe, evil genius head of M & A at Wolkenbank, who'll find a way to lower the F-ACE share price with the help of a hedge fund that's only too happy to help. Of course there'll be a nice little cut for all of them once the deal goes through.

Meanwhile Mary, who surprisingly retains a conscience in this dog-eat-dog world, is recruited by the Treasury to investigate dodgy dealings at hedge funds. Her world and that of Dove and Kona are set on a collision course .