Ayn Rand set forth the moral principles of objectivism, the philosophy that holds man's life-- the life proper to a rational being-- as the standard of moral values and regards altruism as incompatible with man's nature, with the creative requirements of his survival, and with a free society.

Part two of Ayn Rand's groundbreaking novel. The global economy is on the brink of collapse. Brilliant creators, from artists to industrialists, continue to mysteriously disappear. Dagny Taggart, Vice President in Charge of Operations for Taggart Transcontinental, has discovered what may very well be the answer to a mounting energy crisis, a revolutionary motor that could seemingly power the World. It's a race against the clock to find the inventor...

After twelve years of suffering mysterious disappearances of society's most-productive individuals, the nation's economy is on the verge of collapse. As the government pursues policies imposing even greater brutality against those remaining, Dagny Taggart, Vice President of Taggart Transcontinental, must make a choice between saving the nation's collapsing infrestructure or the man she has come to love - the man who would stop the motor of the World....

Novelist Ayn Rand is attracted to her brilliant, young and handsome new protege. She convinces their spouses to tolerate an affair. This arrangement lasts for fifteen years, with devastating consequences for all, until her protege's interest turns to a young student of his own.