In his first novel, New York Times contributor and former Apple insider Joe Hutsko offers a ringside seat at the wrenching struggle for control of America's most innovative computer company. Here are Silicon Valley's legendary players: the supercharged young wizards, the glossy baby execs, the bored rich, and the shrewd parasites they at... more »tract, all woven into a taut suspense novel told by one of the Valley's own. Meet Peter Jones: brilliant, mercurial, he changed the face of an industry and literally invented the portable computer. And Matthew Locke: quintessential company man and marketing genius, he reached the top of New York's corporate ladder while still in his thirties. Both are determined to control Via Computer Inc.--the portable computer company that Jones began in his college dorm, forged out of vision and chutzpah; and, some say, the company he is dangerously close to destroying. Driven more by aesthetic instincts and perfectionism than the bottom line, Peter Jones is consumed by his vision of a better world through technology and doesn't see that his company is sinking fast. As sales drop and deadline after deadline is missed, Via risks losing the cutting edge that made it one of America's most visible and valuable entities. A clash is inevitable. Matthew Locke means to wrest power from Jones and lock the company into a Faustian pact with its largest competitor. As the battle for power escalates, it tests the greed and morality of nearly everyone in the golden-hued valley...and threatens to destroy not only a company but also the lives to these two men. For Peter it means the possibility of losing Kate McGreggor, the beautiful "softly outspoken" folksinger, the only person who really understands his vision...and is devastated by his actions. And the stakes for Matthew? His stunning wife, Greta, whose forays in the world of the Internet bring her to a decision that could destroy not only their marriage but everything the two men have ever worked for. At the center of the storm lies a simple question: What defines a company--its people, its product, or its vision? Told from the insider point of view, The Deal is a gritty re-creation of the computer industry today. We meet the techno-geek visionaries who create the electronic toys we are addicted to and who consider the engineer God, as well as the corporate sharks who look to the bottom line for heaven. Power struggles and sexual politics, corporate backstabbing and media manipulation, all ensue. And at its heart, The Deal is the journey of a man who loses it all and finds his way home to reclaim his dream the hard way.