Check to the Better — Grant Gregory

Phillip Stout is a jaded CPA working for a multinational auditing firm. Already in his early thirties and married with a six year old daughter, Phillip sees a future of programmed economical and societal advancement dictating the rest of his mildly successful life-until a sudden crisis changes everything. Nick Young makes a major score in an online poker tournament, becoming a millionaire endorsement laden celebrity in the span of a single night. Las Vegas and its opportunities await Nick and his friends, with enough money to make anything possible. Michael Carver is the new star associate at one of the most powerful law firms in the United States. His ambition and ability, along with a close relationship with the senior partner of the firm, almost guarantee him a future position of influence among the global elite that makes the world turn. The future comes much sooner than Michael thinks. An online professional poker player, a New York City lawyer, and a Tulsa accountant all come face to face with the end of their worlds. In a modern setting with wide-ranging technological freedoms as well as an increasingly chaotic geopolitical arena, Phillip, Michael, and Nick are thrown deep into dire situations. Each ensuing choice dictates anything from the elusiveness of individual happiness, to the destiny of the remnants of a fallen empire. Fame and fortune, power and prestige, survival and morality: the test of each man's will comes to fruition in a world where the prospect of thermonuclear war threatens existence and empowers it.