Born in Portland, Oregon, during the Depression era, Cedric vows to leave and never return. But it takes a two-year trip around the world, and a plane crash that almost costs him his life, for him to fulfill his goal. A chance encounter throws him into a career with First National City Bank--a career that takes him to Liberia under President Tubman and to Saudi Arabia just before the oil crisis of 1973. Finally established as a private banker to wealthy Arab clients, he experiences the golden age of international banking as Walter Wriston transforms Citibank into the largest financial institution in the world. But internal strife and a profit-oriented mentality cost him his job--only to allow him to return and play a crucial role in saving Citibank from bankruptcy.