It is May, 2000. The beginning of the end of the internet boom. Dot coms that had raised hundreds of millions on little more than a name and a sales pitch have started to crash out of business. But to Craig Rispin, a senior employee at a Sydney Apple Computer shop, the dream of the stock market boom is not over. He has a plan.
In a secret meeting, the owners of seven Apple computer dealerships from all over Australia have gathered to hear his ambitious scheme. Instead of cutting each others' throats in price wars, they could merge their corner stores and make each other rich. Almost overnight they would create a 200 million dollar corporation, which could then be floated on the Australian Stock Exchange. The feeling of excitement is hard to contain - the combined business might raise 100 million on the stock market - more than these people ever dreamt possible.
