The Moneychangers (1975) by Arthur Hailey is a novel that delves into the world of high finance, set in the fictional American bank First Mercantile American in the 1970s.
When Thea finds herself on a hijacked plane somewhere over the Libyan desert, her priority is to take care of two boys rescued from the war in Africa, who are now traveling with her to a new family in London.
In his best work, Germinal, Émile Zola realistically described the inhuman living and working conditions of miners in northern France in the 60s of the 19th century.