6,000 Tons of Gold

A chance meeting aboard ship leads two strangers to a remote Andean valley where a prodigious deposit of gold is discovered and exploited. The account follows the expedition into the Cordilleras, the sea voyages that transport vast quantities of metal, and the ensuing upheaval in international finance, markets, and diplomacy. It details speculation, philanthropy, political consultations, sacrifices by individuals caught up in sudden wealth, and the moral and practical consequences of transferring an abundance of treasure. The narrative culminates in reckonings both public and personal, including a burial at sea.