The author, from a lower class in England, was heading for a career in the Baptist ministry but won a scholarship from Yale. While there he met Martin Luther King, a Baptist minister, befriended him, and identified with his struggle. He drew inspiration from him as he followed his career. He went on to law school and then a corporate career but found little satisfaction thinking that there might be something beyond himself that he could pursue as MLK had discovered. He felt he needed a mission.Through this he lost his wife, felt at a loss about his purpose and then his career took a fall and then he discovered an upward road that allowed his to think beyond himself. He won an appointment as Assistant Secretary of Labor through his Yale connections.He was allowed to pursue a mission. He chose implementing the 401(k) a much needed program for the financial security American citizen.