At the beginning of Ways and Means, we learn that ambitious NYU student Alistair McCabe is on the run for his life. What we don't know is why. The only facts revealed at this point are that Alistair is in the final year of his finance degree, that he's sleeping with Elijah and Mark, a couple in their early thirties who are on the verge of breaking up, and that the job they connected him with has gone horribly awry. This captivating novel explores the risks Alistair took to reach this point, and how far he'll go to save himself.

Greed and desire are major themes. Alistair was raised by a single mother in Binghamton, New York, and attended a private Catholic school thanks to a fund set up by his father's employer in the wake of his tragic death. Alistair realizes, in retrospect, that his classmates were not super elites, but rather the children of doctors, lawyers and mid-level ...