Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses sexual assault and abusive relationships.

When the five contestants first arrive at the estate, eager to participate in One Lucky Winner, they all do so for the promised $10 million prize that awaits the winner. For each character, this money means something different. For Camille, it would resolve the financial woes caused by her overspending and tax evasion. Maire is desperate for money to pay for her daughter’s expensive cystic fibrosis treatments. Ned and Crowley seek the funds to further their entertainment and political careers, respectively. Samuel’s motives are less explicit, though he indicates he will give the money to charity. Even at the beginning of the novel, money is thus worth different things to different characters: Winning might save Maire’s daughter’s life, while for Ned it is a way to further his fame and ego.

As the novel progresses, the characters’ motivations to secure the money—and, in turn, their understanding of what is worth risking—shift. The speed and reason behind these changes is one of the novel’s characterization techniques. For example, at first Maire remains in the game because quitting means giving up on saving her daughter’s life. However, when she realizes that she may actually die in the competition, her

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