The Book Ending Of A Man In Full Comes Full Circle

Netflix’s new limited series, A Man in Full, is based on Tom Wolfe’s 1998 novel of the same name, and a powerful filmmaking team worked to bring the late author’s work to life. Regina King serves as executive producer and directed several episodes, while David E. Kelley of Big Little Lies fame is showrunner, writer, and executive producer.

As if the behind-the-scenes talent wasn’t exciting enough, the series (which dropped on May 2) has earned comparisons to Succession. And for good reason! A Man in Full revolves around a business magnate, Charlie Croker, who carries out a messy fight for the fate of his empire.

At more than 700 pages, the twisting story of business, backstabbing, and unexpected connections is quite the tome — so if you want a brief recap of the A Man in Full book ending and summary, here you go.

Meet Charlie Croker

Charlie Croker may be the protagonist of the novel, but he’s certainly no hero. “You’re playing someone who’s larger than life who doesn’t know he’s funny but is to the audience, and there’s this descent from a man’s man down to maybe an ordinary person,” Jeff Daniels, who plays Charlie, told ComingSoon.net. “It’s like a free fall from being so wealthy and then having the bank take away all that money and it’s just like a free fall. That’s fun to play.”

The novel begins with Charlie’s business in major debt. He’s approached by an attorney, Roger, with an unusual solution. Roger wants Charlie’s help in publicly voicing support for a football player, Fareek, who’s been accused of rape. Roger is also working with Mayor Wes Jordan, who wants to prevent Fareek’s case from causing racial division in his city of Atlanta. Roger and Wes, old friends, concoct a way for Charlie’s debts to be forgiven if he supports Fareek at an upcoming press conference.

A Full-Circle Connection

At the same time, there’s another story happening across the county. Conrad works at a food warehouse owned by Charlie’s company in San Francisco. Charlie closes the site down in order to alleviate some of his debt, which leads to Conrad losing his job. It starts a chain of events that eventually leaves him in prison.

An earthquake allows Conrad to escape from prison and flee to the Atlanta area, where he finds work as a home health worker who supports Charlie after a recent knee surgery. In spending time together, Charlie learns about the philosophy of stoicism from Conrad. This change of heart leads Charlie to disavow Fareek, disclose the attempted deal, and relinquish his fortune — eventually fleeing to Florida to become a TV evangelist.

And despite Charlie’s sudden turn, Wes ultimately wins the reelection.

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