Octopus
Octopus is a real-life thriller that tells the inside story of a GBP300 million hedge fund fraud and the wild-goose chase through Europe by its drug-fuelled manager for a lucrative "secret market" beneath the financial market we all know. Sam Israel was a man who seemed to have it all. Born into one of the world's richest families, he founded his own hedge fund, promising his investors guaranteed profits. But, after suffering devastating losses and faking tax returns, Israel knew his real performance would soon be discovered. So when a former CIA-operative turned conman told him about a "secret market" run by the Federal Reserve, Israel bet his last $150 million of other people's money on a chance to make it all back. So began his crazy year-long adventure in a world populated by clandestine bankers, conspiracy theories, and gun-toting spooks issuing cryptic warnings about a mysterious cabal known only as the Octopus.
Guy Lawson is a true-crime journalist who has written for the Observer, GQ, Rolling Stone and the New York Times. His Rolling Stone piece "Arms and the Dudes" is currently shooting with Warner Brothers. For Octopus he interviewed Sam Israel in prison for three years and travelled extensively through London, Berlin, Washington, and New York to corroborate Israel's story. The book is currently in a bidding war to be optioned for a Hollywood movie.