The San Franciscans — Niven Busch

An aged and penniless man shakes a fist in the faces of the dynastic, arrogant lords of the great Railroad Bank of San Francisco and demands an accounting of his rights. Andy O'Toole holds a worn and yellowed passbook to an account opened by his father the year he was born and a contract in the flyleaf clearly states that he has a right to the profits of the bank -- profits that he has been unable to claim. An unknown young attorney on the prowl takes on the case hoping to right the injustice, but to do so, he must somehow break the ranks of the powerful Yarnum family who have queued up to protect their opulent assets. Representing the bank is the president's young widow trained by her tycoon husband and deeply committed to maintaining his honor and the prestige of the family bank which he controlled.

With millions at stake, the young widow and the young attorney clash. The duel of these formidable opponents -- equally matched in desire, recklessness, guile and rapacity -- is played out against the background of San Francisco during 1949: its bastions of privilege, its raffish back streets, its law courts and its conference rooms, and the secret maneuverings behind the scenes of a great financial empire.

The San Franciscans followed Busch's best-selling California Street, independent in story but linked by the great city whose vibrant inner life they dramatically portray.
The San Franciscans was nationally serialized and the selection of a major book club.