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Lewis describes how Salomon cornered the bond market. No one else was trading bonds, and when the Fed fixed money supply/freed interest rates, bonds became much more volatile/tradable. Then, the long training program/indoctrination into the firm, where you had to get a manager to pick you and the class very split between rowdy and suck-up. The firm was changing. Then a description of shadowing on the trading floor

Michael Lewis is invited to a dinner with the Queen Mother while finishing studies at LSE, where he meets a wife of a Salomon director. She grills him and offers to get him a position, which he accepts (without being asked) from the head of recruiting. He previously studied art history at Princeton (not economics, which was popular at the time) and failed an early interview by saying he wanted the job to make money

An introduction to Wall Street in the 80s, specifically at Salomon Brothers. The chairman, John Gutfreund, challenges John Meriwether, his best trader, to a million dollar hand of Liars poker. The dynamic was Gut showing he can roll with the traders by playing a game Meri was superior at. Meri can’t back out and ups the bet to 10 mil. Gut backs out slyly. Demonstrates the mindset and behavior of those on the floor

Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time during WW2. He was born in NY, went to school for optometry, went to war and was captured, made a bunch of money after, was in a plane crash, and started talking and writing about his experience with the Tralfamadorian aliens who could see in four dimensions. In WW2 he was a chaplains assistant stuck behind enemy lines. He first gets unstuck there and captured with Roland Weary

Kurt introduces us to the story of this book, of how he has always been writing this book since the war, of some of his past in Chicago and New York, how he goes to meet an old wartime buddy to talk about Dresden, how his friends wife hates the thought of making war seem heroic so he promises to not do so, of the childrens crusade, of the deal that gave him the opportunity to finish the book, and of visiting Dresden

Enright buys the Cordlandt property to rebuild it. Gail gets divorced from Dom. Toohey wins his suit and gets rehired at the Banner. Gail watches him for 10 minutes, then the presses shut off and he says the banner is no more. Gail calls Roark to have him build his tower. Even though he says his life had no meaning, he wants it created for what could have been. Dom visits Roark at the top as it’s being completed

Roarks trial for blowing up Cortlandt begins. Lots of people are there, including all main characters. Peter explains the background as a witness. Roark goes on a long tangent about creators versus second handers, and how it’s a creators job to be independent and true to themselves whereas second handers depend on others opinions and thoughts and don’t make anything. The jury finds him not guilty

Everyone is happy about Gail admitting defeat. Roark tries to help Gail but he wont have him. Dom goes to see Roark at Monadnock and is finally happy after all thats happened The next day she calls the police to report a missing ring so the adultery story makes it to the papers. All the papers run it, including the banner, who slanders Dom as the one who ruined it. Gail reads this slander as his ultimate suffering

The Banners board convenes and yell about Gail needing to concede, and he does with the condition that Toohey does not return, and with the finality of the feeling he had when he almost killed himself. He wanders around the city at night. He gets a copy of the banner and reads the denouncement of Roark on the front page. He realizes he gave power to this voice and cant be forgiven since he betrayed his greatness

Toohey writes about Roark in the Banner. Gail fires him and the three others involved. Toohey goes into his office laughing, saying it’s too late and that he will be back. The union strikes the paper, leaving Gail to run the paper with terrible new hires (basically by himself). Dom comes to work at the banner again. Gail visits Roark who tells him to not give in. The paper loses advertisers and isn’t being read

Toohey comes over to Peter’s; Peter has not been leaving his apartment. He asks Peter for the full story, since he knows that Roark helped him with the Cortlandt projects. He yells at Peter, who lamely gives up the contract he and Roark made. Toohey rants about wanting power to take over the world by breaking men’s souls to feel guilty, to be performing for and jealous of others, to make everything average

Dom almost dies but recovers. Gail figured out the plan immediately and freed Roark from jail. Society explodes against Roark for his actions, since altruism is something they can all get behind, but Gail tells all of his papers to defend Roark aggressively. People move on from Roark and start hating the banner and Gail. Toohey is very happy about the situation since it puts him in a position to take the papers

Roark returns to find others helping Peter with the project houses. Peter basically had no say on the project so he couldn’t stop it. He goes to Roark and apologizes but Roark knows it isn’t his fault. He visits Dom and gives her instructions to go to the project and lie down in a ditch. That night she does, and Roark blows up the buildings, destroying Doms car making it look like she was hurt in the explosion

Gail invites Roark on his yacht for a few months, and Roark agrees. Roark tells Gail about how those who live with no self live within others, live second-hand. They do things only for the approval and acceptance of others, and therefore won’t listen to anything outside the influence of public opinion. They never do things they want solely because they want it, only because it is impressive to others

Peter runs into Katie on the streets of NYC, which surprises him since she apparently moved to DC a few years ago. She seems unsurprised and strictly polite, with no surprise. They get tea and he tells her to drop the act and about his life and how he loved her. She seems happy, but completely unsurprised or upset, as if she’s killed off that part of her past. Peter is hurt

Gail is upset when he sees the pictures of the housing since he clearly knows it’s Roarks work, but Roark tells him he’ll sue if Gail accuses him of doing it. Gail has an interaction with Alvah that makes him feel like Alvah won’t listen, and makes him think (but not enough) about his control over the company .Gail shows Roark a huge swath of land in Hell’s Kitchen that he wants Roark to build his tower on

Gail Dom and Roark are all chilling by the newly completed house. Roark is exhausted from working overtime on the housing project. Peter shows Toohey and he laughs, saying Peter accomplished what he’s been trying to do his whole life.

Roark and Peter meet for the first time in 6 years. Roark realizes Peter has changed when he asks for his help, and Peter is surprised when Roark says he’ll think about it. They meet the next day and Roark says he has been thinking about these projects for a while as a challenge and really wants to build them. With Peter as the social support and Roark as the designer they agree to secretly work together

Keatings life is becoming a failure. His office is down to one floor, after the failure of the Centuries exhibit, the resigning Guy, and the Depression. His mom moves in with him, and he starts to paint alone since it makes him peaceful. He needs one more commission, and goes to Toohey to try to get it. Toohey tells him he can have it if he succeeds but that he was always replaceable. Keating calls Roark for help

Toohey has a meeting with a bunch of rich folks who have stakes in the Banner. They talk about their opinions on society and art, and Toohey is happy to hear them repeating Banner talking points that he has control over. They express their fear over Wynand and the disdain the public is beginning to feel towards him, worried their investment in the banner is bad, but Toohey soothes them successfully and is very happy

Gail spends more time with taro, inviting him to lunch and coming to his office and home. The home comes along, and Gail and Roark talk about Roark never controlling another and about how your existence and doing something with it is proof of its worth. Dom still waits patiently as the two get to know each other more

Gail shows Dom Roarks house and says hes coming for dinner. At dinner, they talk about your soul can say yes to something it likes and how you then own it forever. Dom tries her best to stay relaxed at the dinner knowing her personal efforts are finally over. Gail visits Roark at his office and tells him through story how he makes him feel hopeful, then they go to dinner. Gail tells Toohey to never write about Roark

Roark visits the home site with Gail. Gail brings up the Temple and Roark chews him out for saying he would have done the same if he was in town and for thinking Roark cared. They reminisce on their poor childhoods. Roark brings the drawings to Gail who says Roark will for him doing what he says or he will end his career. Roark butchers the house and calls the bluff and Gail folds. Gail invites him to dinner w Dom

Roark and Gail meet. They both realize instantly that they are similar. Roark tells Gail why he’s never built himself a structure and Gail agrees. He wants Roark to build a small home for himself and Dom thats like a fortress to keep her from the world. Roark agrees to do it. Toohey finds out and says they don’t have to worry about Gail anymore. Gail asks for and reads all info about Roark and the temple trial

Roark gets a job to build a big resort, but is suspicious about it. He remains busy, as the hotel from earlier gets funds to be finished and he has a bunch of other small jobs. The resort does really well, exposing that the investors wanted it to do poorly and chose Roark because they thought he was bad. Roark becomes famous, is asked to do the world fair w a team and rejects it, so Peter does it. Gail calls Roark

Gail tells Dom she’s in love with integrity, and that he hates the presumptuous of it. He talks crushing other people to feel the power. Later he talks about his want to build a skyscraper with his name that is the final symbol. She tells him to fire Toohey and he takes offense, saying Toohey is not a threat. Later again, Dom apologizes for using Gail, and he says it’s fine since she gives him something to own

Dom stays in the penthouse for months after the wedding, and Gail starts working very hard again. A banner writer writes a story on Dom and js fired for it. Dom makes Gail go to a showing of the bad play lifted by the banner, and it made her think of the fight between people like Roark vs the power of the banner. She crashes out a bit on Gail since they both feel treasonous for their roles in having that play aired

Dom gets back from Reno and asks Gail for a massive public wedding, which he puts together without hesitation, even though he did not want it. After Dom realizes he had his papers not report on it, she lets him leave the wedding and realizes he won by being unbothered. Toohey and Alvah discuss all the mail the paper is getting about the wedding, and how Toohey also helps another magazine. Toohey says he’s loyal

Toohey supports modern architecture, even though it’s not as pure as Henry Cameron’s original work. Peter asks Toohey if he’s serious, which he says he is, about architecture being ever-changing. Keating starts work on Stoneridge but is exhausted. Francon retires and Keating has Dumont join him as a partner.

Toohey is with his council of writers listening to a play by Ike. They all say it’s terrible, but the banners writer Jules (who Toohey got hired) says it’s great. He explains he knows it’s trash but he can make the public think it’s good. He can bring down good work by comparing this trash to it and people won’t know the difference. Keating joins and the artists realize he is their target audience.