When the U.S. Army discharges young Paul Dolan Kilcoyle in 1980 he is a decorated veteran of six years' service in Afghanistan. He sets his civilian sights on big money and accepts a convenient job in the huge Cosmopolis Life Insurance company on East 20th Street in New York City. Cosmopolis Life, once an industry leader, has stumbled badly and is headed for disaster. A lucky break helps multitalented Kilcoyle start a conglomerate. He decides to gamble all his holdings on a one-year plan to achieve wealth through leverage. Meanwhile, Cosmopolis Life gets a new president determined to succeed. Board chairman Jacob Von Seewagen supports the new president, Harmon Gordon Elkins. At a much lower level Paul Kilcoyle is assisted by unorthodox Sylvia Turkowitz and regal Ernestine Hawkins, while veteran manager Mark Sitlo and senior vice president Richard Sheridan focus on Paul's downfall, with help from Von Seewagen's nephew, Barry Waltham. Glamorous Loretta Lace, the company's only woman officer, relies on competence, while Clare Jacobsen and Kathryn Ryan are young women shifting into jobs at Cosmopolis Life after difficult starts elsewhere. Ryan, convinced Kilcoyle is corrupt, exerts every effort to bring about his downfall.