Dr Alex Hoffman is a legend. An American physicist once employed on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, he now uses a revolutionary and highly secret system of computer algorithms to trade on the worlds financial markets. None of his rivals is sure how he does it, but somehow Hoffmans hedge fund built around the standard measure of market volatility: the VIX or 'Fear Index' generates astonishing returns for his investors.

Then, late one night, in his house beside Lake Geneva, an intruder disturbs Hoffman and his wife while they are asleep. This terrifying moment is the start of Robert Harriss new novel a story just as compelling and timely as his most recent contemporary thriller, The Ghost.

Set entirely over the course of a single day, The Fear Index follows Hoffmans quest to find out who is trying to destroy him, even as the worlds financial markets head for collapse.

Meet Alex Hoffman: among the secretive inner circle of the ultra-rich, he is something of a legend. Based in Geneva, he has developed a revolutionary system that has the power to manipulate financial markets. Generating billions of dollars, it is a system that thrives on panic - and feeds on fear.

Meet Alex Hoffman: among the secretive inner circle of the ultra-rich, he is something of a legend. Based in Geneva, he has developed a revolutionary system that has the power to manipulate financial markets. Generating billions of dollars, it is a system that thrives on panic - and feeds on fear. And then, in the early hours of one morning, while he lies asleep, a sinister intruder breaches the elaborate security of his lakeside home. So begins a waking nightmare of paranoia and violence as Hoffman attempts - with increasing desperation - to discover who is trying to destroy him - before it's too late ...