An analysis which places London in its global financial setting and traces, with new detail, the origins of "Big Bang". It attempts to analyze the less familiar evolution of many city institutions, including the big banks - whose business and lifestyle is examined - the new investment banks, the merchant banks and London's vast foreign banking fraternity. Particular scrutiny is given to the Bank of England, with its strange intermediate status between government and City, while the powerful new investing institutions and the City's new watchdog regulatory system also receive close examination.