title: The Hope Affair
author: Chambers, Jim
description: Fraud, murder, sexual exploitation and political corruption threaten the worlds of young businessman, Christopher Townsend and civil servant, Caroline Hope. Christopher’s dreams of riches are in peril whilst Caroline becomes suicidal. And government collapse seems likely.Christopher Townsend is a motivated young businessman determined to prove himself in the wake of his abusive father’s damning comments. He identifies an outlet for his ambitions and quest for success in the corporate world, where he meets up with his long-lost love, Elizabeth. Encountering fraudulent practice, how will he react to Elizabeth’s demands that he chooses between his dreams of riches and her? How will he react on learning of a murder which seems inextricably linked with the fraud he is uncovering?Meanwhile vicar’s daughter, Caroline Hope, is seeking to prove herself and discover a sense of self-worth in a world she is ill-prepared for. Socially awkward but highly intelligent, how will she cope with her developing doubts about her lover? How will she respond to the bullying blackmail of her minister and to sexual exploitation?Christopher’s and Caroline’s worlds are set to intersect as they both seek to rise to challenges that seem insurmountable and inconsistent with their aspirations as the worst excesses of the political and business worlds impact in a pincer movement of malevolence and corruption.