Behind the prim gates of the Greenwich, Connecticut, McMansions, Wall Street whizzes turn their attentions from mortgages to another possible profit source: the $25 trillion life-insurance industry. By securitizing the policies of the old and sick, they hope to make another financial killing. At the same time, Natalie Savondnik and Ronald Goodall-two exceptional yet aloof medical residents-are working closely with their medical center's premier scientist...

Eva, a widow and retired history teacher, enjoys a quiet life. Everything changes when she receives a life insurance check accidentally made out for $5,000,000 instead of the expected $50,000. At the not-so-gentle urging of her best friend Maddie, Eva deposits the money and the two friends head to the Canary Islands with every intention of living it up. But their fantasy is short-lived when they discover that they have become media sensations overnight....

An African-American family living on the South Side of Chicago comes into a sudden financial windfall, the potential uses of which divides them bitterly.