Katherine accepts the job as the first woman President of Nationwide Mortgage Bank. She survives the betrayal by her husband and raises two sons on her own. She moves from working on Wall Street to Newport Beach California.
A new love interest, Rob makes connection with her through their employment. Rob helps Katherine sort through a disaster after the killer drugs her at a Rave party. Can she avoid going to jail?
The Mortgage Meltdown of 2008 touched all of America. The story is inside the cut throat business before the crash. Find out what kind of people caused so many foreclosures.
The story is a contemporary Great Gatsby, with Katherine as the hero.
Mortgage banker shares financial experience in novel of murder, betrayal, and redemption.
A woman balances motherhood and mortgage banking prior to the economic collapse in Caroline Gerardo's "Toxic Assets"
Author Caroline Gerardo witnessed firsthand the cutthroat industry during her years working with the mortgage division of a major financial institution. In her novel, "Toxic Assets" (ISBN 1453877916- paperback) Gerardo combines the harsh reality of the failing mortgage market and the story of a strong, single mother's rise to power amidst backstabbing and murder.
Fleeing her life on Wall Street and the betrayal of her ex-husband, Katherine McVeigh heads for the West Coast. While living in the glamorous mecca of America's mortgage business in Newport Beach, Katherine suddenly finds herself the first woman to be named president of Nationwide Bank. It's the perfect position, and offers a secure way to provide for the two men in her lifeher sons.
Katherine takes on a lot more than the top leadership role, however. When the corruption and lavish spending habits of the bank make headlines just before the market crash, Katherine must lead her company out of crisis. And she's being set up for the murders of several Nationwide Bank board members.
"Katherine is the classic heroine, who is beautiful, smart and strong,"
"She has a tough job in the male-dominated financial world."
The bank president learns to separate the good from the bad in the money-hungry world of mortgage banking while she juggles the responsibilities of motherhood and her blossoming relationship with Rob.
Gerardo's timely work gives readers a taste of what thousands of bankers and financial professionals encountered during the mortgage meltdown's first days. She tempers the excitement of the financial mess with a tale of murder, betrayal and romance.
About the Author:
Caroline Gerardo graduated magna cum laude from Scripps College with a double major in literature and art. She received a master's in fine arts from Claremont Graduate University. Gerardo worked in the mortgage division of Washington Mutual, and has authored a series of novellas in addition to this novel.