Eight lives are about to change in Copenhagen. The executives of the Tank, a financial firm downtown, have just heard that a financial crisis is looming. Which employees will make the cut? Harold Jaeger isn’t too worried; he is the protégé of Frederick Breathwaite, an American who has worked for the Tank for twenty-five years. Jaeger’s life has been on a downward slide lately; he is divorced, alienated from his ex-wife, and growing tired of his womanizing ways. He is falling for Birgitte Sommer, a coworker whose own marriage is in trouble.

Despite his years of loyalty, Frederick Breathwaite is the first to lose his job. He can’t bring himself to tell his wife the bad news, but he takes comfort in one thing: He has made his boss, Martin Kampman, guarantee a place at the firm for Breathwaite’s son, Jes. But Jes isn’t interested in corporate life; he is content working with a Muslim key and shoemaker, Jâlal al-Din, who dispenses wisdom from the Koran to his beloved employee.

Martin Kampman’s carefully controlled family life is also unraveling. His teenage son, Adam, refuses to follow in his father’s footsteps. Jes inspires Adam to start his privileged life over from scratch. As Martin reacts violently to his son’s rebellion, he seems to be on the verge of taking the Tank, and all its employees, down with him.