"For fans of Don DeLillo and Joseph O'Neill, an enthralling debut about the one percent, what they'll do to stay on top, and the callous gaze they turn on those below them. Stephen Harker is a disillusioned associate at Kilgore LLP, litigating on behalf of multinational companies such as insurance giant WorldScore, underwriter of a contractor that supplies private soldiers to the US military. Harker's charismatic, womanizing boss assigns him a case defending WorldScore against a lawsuit filed by Major Michael "Bud" Thomas, an Air Force veteran, injured military contractor, and single dad seeking workers' compensation benefits for PTSD and other injuries suffered while employed in Afghanistan. Fearing that honoring his claims will open the floodgate of payouts to returning soldiers, WorldScore demands that Harker defeat Thomas at all costs. When Harker turns the firm's full legal power on the wounded veteran, he finds himself in an existential downward spiral and a desperate relationship with his boss's bohemian ex-wife until he is confronted with a final act of redemption. All the Beautiful People We Once Knew is a riveting insider's indictment of the world of the corporate elite and the savage determination with which they fight to maintain control of their profits. In a society where the very institutions that should support our returning veterans instead view them with suspicion, this stunning debut is a grim reflection on the ever-growing rift between the classes"-- Provided by publisher. "Attorney Stephen Harker is tasked with blocking the case of Major John Thomas, a veteran, former contract soldier, and divorced father seeking workers' compensation for PTSD and injuries suffered while employed by private security firm FreedomQuest in the Afghan war zone. This sparks an existential downward spiral and a desperate relationship with his boss's bohemian ex-wife until he must choose whether to make one last act of redemption"-- Provided by publisher.
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