Stepheny's Reviews > A Simple Plan

When 3 men stumble upon a downed plane in the middle of a field, their lives are changed forever. Their fates decided and forever intertwined. For inside that plane lies a dead pilot and a duffle bag full of money. How much money? Approximately $4.5 million total.

What would you do? Turn it in? Call the police? Keep it?

Hank, his brother Jacob and his brother’s best friend Lou are faced with this dilemna. After counting the money on the side of the road and discussing it they formulate a plan- a simple one. Hank, the “reasonable accountant” will hold on to the money for 6 months. If nothing comes of the downed plane, or missing $4.5 million, they’ll split the money amongst themselves and go their separate ways.

But things are never that simple, are they?

After agreeing to not tell their significant others, Hank immediately tells his wife Sarah. Lou tells his as well. Jacob, the loner, has no one to share the secret with. Lou is a heavy drinker, has a bit of a gambling problem and a big mouth to boot. He mentions to another buddy that he’s coming into some money. The fear of being caught and the paranoia that follows lead to a whole new chain of events that none of them foresaw.

The saying is typically said incorrectly that money is the root of all evil. It’s the greed of money that is the root of evil. The desire to keep this money, the future it held for them all leads this group down a very dangerous and evil path. They make decisions before thinking through their options. They are ruthless and stop at nothing to protect their stake in the money.

It’s easy for me to sit in my relatively comfortable life to think that I could do the right thing. That I would see that bag full of money and call in to report it. But seeing all that money would probably trigger some deeply rooted longing in me. A longing stemmed from a childhood of growing up without all the new and flashy things my friends had. But the reality is we really don’t know what we would do if faced with this kind of money or what decisions we would make thereafter. This was a pantless buddy read with some great friends that had us all in heated(friendly heated, of course!) discussion. Exactly the type of book that makes reading with a group so much fun!