The novel features James Drayton and Roland Mackenzie, two management consultants. James, a high achiever, feels pressure to prove himself, while Roland is a less conventional counterpart. Their relationship evolves as they work on a project restructuring an oil firm, leading to aspirations in green energy. The book, characterized by its warm and humorous tone, delves into themes of ambition and camaraderie against a backdrop of significant historical events, presenting a twist on traditional narratives through its character-driven plot.
James Drayton, born to north London academics, is a socially awkward high achiever who privately measures himself against Christopher Columbus and Napoleon.
The key to his sense of destiny arrives in the unlikely shape of a slacking junior colleague, Roland Mackenzie, who graduated with a 2:2 in physics.
Mutual suspicion thaws when they're tasked with restructuring an Aberdeen oil firm in possession of the patents for a pioneering underwater turbine.
It's a mark of Starritt's confidence that the quest to harness tidal power - the book's main business - gets going only 200 pages in.
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