A city like NYC cannot just run itself. Its big. There are too many forces playing against each other. Sure, it's beautiful and glorious. You can find just about anything you want or need there. There's also a lot of the negative there. Poverty, crime, the dark and dirty side of humanity is all there waiting to explode and kill the city. Dr. Spencer Brownfield know this all too well, he's been saving the city from ruin for decades. To watch him at work, you wouldn't think so. Sometimes it as simple as releasing a rat in a restaurant. Everything he does though, it's for a reason. Manipulating the city in minor ways ensures that it keeps on going. He, however, will not last forever so he takes in graduate student Heller Wilson as a trainee to take his place. As they start their training, Brownfield believes they have four years before the city is at risk for complete ruin. But then the math isn't adding up. They'll have to rework their equations and work a lot smarter and harder if they're to save the city they love. But is Brownfield really all he says he is? Heller will have to decide - putting his future and potentially the city's future on the line.
It's a story about what it means to love a place and its people, about what it means to take risks instead of take the easy safe path, about what can happen when people work together - if even for just a day. Oh yeah, there's a little math thrown in, but you don't need to be a math geek to like this book as the real star is the city and its residents.
* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you'll hate?
