Eight ordinary people are given $1million, a fortnight of intensive training and two months to run their own hedge fund. Can they make a killing?

The experiment reveals the inner workings of a City trading floor. The money is supplied by hedge fund manager Lex Van Dam: he wants to see if ordinary people can beat the professionals, and he expects a return on his investment too. Yet no-one foresees the financial crisis that lies ahead.

The traders were selected in spring 2008, before the US credit crisis gathered pace. The successful candidates were chosen, trained and dispatched to their specially created trading room in the heart of the Square Mile. Among them are an environmentalist, a soldier, a boxing promoter, an entrepreneur, a retired IT consultant, a vet, a student and a shopkeeper.

The novice city traders are struggling to make it in the midst of a global credit crunch. With just a couple of weeks to go, the gap between those who are trading well and those who are not widens, and Lex Van Dam takes decisive action against the weakest in the group. By close of trading on the final day just three traders are left, but will they manage to make Lex a profit? Show less