Overtime
By Brian Hill and Dee Power

     Dan Wilson, CEO of Wilson Industries (a conglomeration of family owned companies that have a combined income of nearly $100 million annually), is now facing a downturn in their finances.

     His chief financial officer, Charlie (Charlotte Ann) Travis, tells him they need new capital and need to cut back.

     He introduces Stuart Trent into the company as the new Vice President of Marketing. But Charlie has reservations about him.

     Dan's best friend, Mike Thornton, from their college days at Brookstone College in Wisconsin, is Dan's Lawyer. They share a past in football at college with Mark Reid and Kelly McCluskey.

      Mark had a brilliant future in the NFL, but was killed in an auto accident during preseason tryouts. His fiancee, Kelly, has established in Mark's memory a charitable foundation, Second Life, that assists the jobless, the homeless and the hopeless to rebuild their lives.

     Gerald Krauss, a venture capitalist, with the help of Terrence Ward, head of an investment banking firm, through chicanery, duplicity and fraud forces a buy-out of Dan's company, leaving him with a failing TV station and a food lab.

     The three discover that Stuart is a spy for Krauss. They struggle to find financial backing in their attempt to buy back Dan's company, whose employees are fiercely loyal to Dan and do their best to cause Krauss difficulty.

    Dan's station has the contract for the Dallas-Green Bay Packers game. Dan plans a half time broadcast of the old timers of the Packers, hoping to stimulate viewing of the game.

     The coach of the Green Bay Packers is Brick Denton who hopes to bring the new untried team to the past glory of the Packers.

     Kelly loses government grants, has to close the foundation and flees to Phoenix to Dan and Mike. There the three reaffirm their friendship, but now include Charlie. The culmination of their struggle is the game between Dallas and Green Bay. It is a suspenseful, colorful and beautiful narration.

     This is not just a romantic financial thriller. It is a paean to the Green Bay Packers. No football fan should miss the accounts of their history, their players, their traditions. The loyalty of the Green Bay fans through good times and bad is steadfast. The accounts of the football games are graphic -- well done with the reader able to picture the action.

     The machinations and deviousness of the take over firm are well presented and chilling in their implications.

     The characters are well developed: the devotion and the frustrations of Kelly; the perseverance of Charlie to gain financial help; the bond among the four college friends; the dedication of Dan to his family's tradition and the company employees; the mental anguish of Coach Denton in trying to shape his team.

     This is a well constructed plot with something for everyone: romance, financial maneuvering, and a terrific football story.