Arthur Hailey’s "The Moneychangers," a summary

Published in 1975, this industrial novel reveals in detail the hidden workings of the US financial system in the 1970s through the bitter rivalry between two vice presidents for the top job at a major bank. The author explored banking technologies from check clearing to nascent electronic networks and credit cards, revealing the links between credit fraud and criminal syndicates.

In 1976, NBC produced a four-part miniseries adaptation of the novel, The Moneychangers, starring Christopher Plummer and Kirk Douglas, which won an Emmy Award.

Part One: The Disappearance in Storage and a Change of Leadership

First Mercantile American Bank President Ben Rosselli gathers a small group of longtime employees in the boardroom and, over a glass of sherry, announces his imminent death from lung cancer. The news immediately ignites a secret battle for the vacant seat between two executive vice presidents — the conservative careerist Roscoe Hayward and the liberal reformer Alex Vandervort.

Hayward immediately locks himself in his office and calls the board of directors, hoping for support from influential advertising magnate Harold Austin. Vandervort speaks with central office manager Edwina D’Orsi about the future of the Forum East slum redevelopment program. That evening, Alex visits his wife, Celia, who suffers from severe catatonic schizophrenia, in a closed clinic, after which he meets his mistress, leftist activist and lawyer Margot Bracken.

That morning, Puerto Rican Juanita Nunez’s cash register at the central branch is found to be missing six thousand dollars. Security chief Nolan Wainwright pressures the cashier, but Juanita stubbornly insists, "I didn’t take the money."

On Friday, Edwina is convinced of Nunez’s phenomenal memory, capable of naming the exact balance of bills without counting them, and calls the central audit office to check the employees’ accounts.

Auditors find embezzlement of dormant deposits using forged orders issued by Deputy Manager Miles Eastin.

Wainwright illegally breaks into Eastin’s apartment one night, extracts a confession, and forces him to write his own testimony. At trial, Miles receives a two-year prison sentence.

Ben Rosselli dies during a board meeting, after which the board appoints the aging Jerome Patterton as interim chairman.

Part Two: The Siege of Cash Desks and Bahamian Temptations

Hayward is pushing through the Monetary Policy Committee to halve funding for the Forum East programme in order to attract international communications giant Supranational.

Margot Bracken is developing a response plan. Thousands of slum dwellers line up at the central branch’s teller machines to deposit five dollars or immediately get their change back.

The branch is suspended for several days. The bank retreats under threat of a union boycott. A story in the city press reveals Margot’s involvement in the siege, casting a shadow on Vandervort, but Alex refuses to sever ties with the woman he loves.

Harold Austin arranges a trip for Hayward to the Bahamas on the luxury private jet of SunatCo conglomerate head George Quatermain.

Big George demands a fifty million dollar loan and offers Roscoe a seat on the corporation’s board of directors.

Hayward succumbs to the charms of the flight attendant Avril Devereaux hired for him, and a hidden photographer captures their intimacy by the pool at night.

In Drummondburg Prison, Miles Eastin experiences gang violence and becomes the "girlfriend" of the thug Karl. Loan shark Igor Ominsky, nicknamed "The Russian," tells Miles through the mafia that interest on old debts is being frozen.

At the board meeting, Hayward pushes for the issuance of fifty million dollars to Quatermain’s shell companies. Vandervort seeks approval for his own long-term deposit program and automated street branches, which he calls "money shops."

Wainwright’s informant, Vic, dies under torture in the river, having only managed to tell the bank the name of the loan shark.

Part Three: The Collapse of a Giant and the Exposure of a Syndicate

Released on bail, an exhausted Eastin comes to Juanita Nunez for forgiveness.

Miles, unsuccessfully looking for work, turns to Wainwright out of hunger, agreeing to become an undercover agent in the gangster club "Two Sevens".

Juanita becomes an unwitting liaison between Miles and security. Eastin gets a job as a bookkeeper at the club and grooms veteran counterfeiter Danny Kerrigan, who reveals the secrets of counterfeiting KiCharge cards and banknotes.

Vandervort hires private investigator Vernon Jacks, discovering that Supranational is a Ponzi scheme on the verge of collapse.

Alex forces Patterton to dump all of the corporation’s shares on the stock exchange. Upon learning of this, Hayward demands Quatermain repay the loan, but is refused.

Syndicate boss Tony "Bear" Marino intercepts a phone call from Istine and kidnaps Juanita and her daughter, Estela. The gangsters burn the girl’s hand with a cigarette, forcing her to reveal Miles’ name.

Istin is captured in a sporting goods store, where he manages to raise the alarm with a counterfeit card in the name of Monpelgi. In an underground printing shop, Istin is nailed to a table and his face is burned with nitric acid.

Juanita, taken away blindfolded, reconstructs the number of turns and the speedometer readings from memory, which allows the police to uncover the counterfeiters’ lair and save the dying Miles.

Supranational declares bankruptcy, triggering a run on depositors at the Tylersville branch. Alex personally stops the panic by publicly pledging to pay out every last cent of savings.

Reporters call Hayward with revelations about bribes from Quatermain and connections to Avril, after which Roscoe throws himself from a 36th-floor balcony.

The board of directors dismisses Patterton and begs Vandervort to take over as bank president. Secretary Dora Callaghan hands Alex incriminating documents hidden in Hayward’s desk, and Vandervort decides to start a life together with Margot Bracken.