The penultimate trump

Harley D. Haworth spent most of his life as a hard‑charging figure in American business, a man whose name once struck fear into Wall Street rivals. Now, at ninety‑two, he finds himself locked in a quieter, more relentless battle against the slow erosion of his own body, despite commanding resources worth billions and a legion of doctors armed with every gadget from vitamins to false teeth. Their well‑meaning but baffling prescriptions—crackers and milk—only highlight the gap between his once‑unstoppable vigor and the frailty of old age.

Enter Garibaldi Jones, a modest mechanical engineer who has unexpectedly become the chief of staff to Haworth’s dwindling empire. On idle Sundays he launches into grandiose rants about science, humanity’s future, and the possibility of super‑civilizations, much to the annoyance of his wife Nancy who is more interested in kitchen tips. Their spirited debates set the stage for a clash of ambition and mortality, as Haworth’s desperate fight for survival meets Jones’s restless imagination.