On the Floor [Paperback]

'On the Floor is a riveting novel from a unique talent' --Irish Tatler

'Impressively constructed ... a short, snappy and ultra-smart drama' --Daily Mirror

'Campbell knows this world well, so it all feels authentic' --Irish Sunday Times

`Campbell has taken a considerable risk with such a wry, tough offering. But then again, risks reap dividends.' --Irish Sunday Independent

`An energetic and illuminating read ... both eloquent and funny'

` Aifric Campbell knows her subject and her descriptions of the bustling trading floor have the ring of truth. -- FT --Independent

The higher you fly, the further you have to fall

In the City, everything has a price. What's yours? At the age of twenty-eight, Dubliner Geri Molloy has put her troubled past behind her to become a major player at Steiner's investment bank in London, earning $850k a year doing business with a reclusive hedge fund manager in Hong Kong who, in return for his patronage, likes to ask her about Kant and watch while she eats exotic Asian delicacies. For five years Geri has had it all, but in the months leading up to the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991, her life starts to unravel. Abandoned by her corporate financier boyfriend, in the grip of a debilitating insomnia, and drinking far too much, Geri becomes entangled in a hostile takeover involving her boss, her client and her ex. With her career on the line as a consequence, and no one to turn to, she is close to losing it, in every sense. Taut and fast-paced, On the Floor is about making money and taking risks; it's about getting away with it, and what happens when you're no longer one step ahead; ultimately, though, it's a reminder to never, ever underestimate the personal cost of success.

THE HIGHER YOU FLY, THE FURTHER YOU FALL For a long, long time, things had all the appearance of being on an upward trend. I fell in love, the crash came and went, stock markets kept roaring ahead and I was coining it. So who could have guessed how much trouble lay down the road? At 28, Geri Molloy is a major player at a London investment bank, earning six figures trading with a reclusive hedge fund manager who won't deal with anyone else on the floor. She looks like a woman holding her own in a man's world, but her success is an illusion. Geri doesn't own her life at all. On the eve of the 1991 Gulf War, everything begins to unravel. Abandoned by her boyfriend, gripped by insomnia and drinking way too much, Geri is close to losing it - in every sense. Taut and fast-paced, On the Floor is about making money and taking risks; getting away with it, only to discover you're no longer one step ahead. Ultimately, it's a reminded to never, ever let anyone else call the shots. 'One of my favourite novelists' Joseph O'Connor 'A talent of unusual promise' Nicholas Shakespeare

Aifric Campbell was born in Ireland and grew up in Dublin. She later moved to Sweden where she completed a Linguistics degree and lectured in semantics. She subsequently spent thirteen years as an investment banker in London before leaving to study psychotherapy and creative writing, most recently at the University of East Anglia. She now lives in Sussex with her husband and son. Her previous two novels, The Semantics of Murder [9781846686580] and The Loss Adjustor [9781846687310], are also published by Serpent's Tail.