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'''Shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2017'''

One rainy November evening a charming, handsome stranger fresh from the boat arrived at a counting house on Golden Hill Street in New York, a small town on the tip of Manhattan Island. He had an unusual proposition concerning an order for £1000 (a huge amount in 1746) which he wished to cash. It was tempting, but could the young man be trusted? Mr Smith wouldn't explain the whys and wherefores of the transaction, or where he comes from or what he's planning to do with the money: it's almost as though he wants to be suspected. Should the New York merchants trust him - and risk their money? But if they refuse him they risk their credit.