{"product_id":"9780812992267","title":"Windfall: A Novel","description":"\u003ci\u003eIn his twenties and thirties, Ben never thought about money--more or less what you'd expect  from a scholar whose specialty was the transcendentalists.  But now, in his forties, trying to raise two children on a  thirty-thousand-dollar-a-year salary, it's all he thinks about. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoney is a problem for Ben Lindberg.  As a college professor, he's fought long and hard to keep his intellectual life--and his family life--safe and secure.  But he can't afford to replace his broken-down car, can't even afford to fix it, can't even afford to move his family into a better part of Austin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen, one night, things change.  Searching for the stray family cat, Ben finds in the basement of an abandoned feed store eight coolers filled with fifty-dollar bills.  A windfall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHe knew he should leave, but he couldn't.  It was the most extraordinary moment of his life and he wanted to savor it.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBen takes the money, hides it and doesn't tell his wife.  For a time, their lives improve.  They move into a wonderful new house and buy a second car.  Ben becomes a hero to his family.  But when someone comes looking for the coolers, Ben discovers that everything comes at a cost--in this case, a cost beyond anything he could have imagined.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWindfall\u003c\/b\u003e is the story of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.  Tautly plotted, intelligently written, and shot through with searing psychological insight, it is a novel of paranoia and betrayal, secrets and shattered ideals--a relentlessly suspenseful thriller.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Random House Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47007868092656,"sku":"9780812992267","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780812992267_p0.jpg?v=1763745093","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780812992267","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}