They all succeed, even with Metcalfe occasionally behaving unexpectedly. Unspoken Plan Guarantee: We don't learn the protagonists' plans beforehand, only learn of them as they are executed.Shown Their Work: Writing the novel involved a lot of research on subjects such as surgery, the traditions of the University of Oxford, or horse racing.Police Are Useless: The police is well aware of Metcalfe's history, but they themselves explain that the chance of getting a conviction is nil.Not That Kind of Doctor: When Stephen gives Metcalfe a tour of the University of Oxford during the Encaenia, Metcalfe demonstrates his ignorance in several ways, such as stating "all doctors mean to me is pain and money" when he is told of the holders of doctorates.
Master Forger: David Stein, who produces a fake Van Gogh painting which Metcalfe buys.Luke, I Am Your Father: Metcalfe might say: "James, I am your father-in-law.".The protagonists conclude that now they have to come up with a way to return the money. Double Caper: In the twist ending, the Prospecta Oil stock prices suddenly skyrocket after an oil strike nearby.Crash-Into Hello: Harvey Metcalfe met his future wife when she accidentally bumped his car.Chekhov's Gunman: Rosalie Metcalfe is mentioned throughout the story, then turns out to be "Anne", James's girlfriend.Caper Rationalization: The protagonists are trying to get even with the fraudster who conned them.
Was adapted into a mini-series in 1990, and received an Interactive Fiction adaptation in the late eighties. Without any faith in the law or the police, the protagonists decide to get even by conning their money, million dollars in total, back out of the fraudster- "not a penny more, not a penny less." Each of the four is to come up with a plan, based on their personal area of expertise. But soon it turns out that the supposed company was a fraud, perpetrated by the conman Harvey Metcalfe, and the protagonists find themselves utterly bankrupt. A 1976 novel which was the debut of the British writer Jeffrey Archer.įour upper-class men in the UK buy the stocks of a new, promising company, Prospecta Oil.
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