Concerned that their reign of power is nearing its end, the world's wealthiest men and women develop a plan to protect their lifestyle. After forming a secret group, led in part by the unpredictable Charles Benton, these men and women use their immeasurable wealth and power to eliminate jobs and promote fear, squeezing the economy, propagandizing the threat of war and minimizing concerns over global warming. Patiently, the group watches hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts and floods rip apart the country, waiting until public fear of the weather surmounts all other fears, and then offers its solution to save the world. The story follows Michael O'Sullivan, a scholar, football star and philosophical young man, as he leaves college and rents an apartment with his girlfriend, Susie, in Brooklyn, New York. From there, life goes quickly downhill for Michael. He loses his job with a local newspaper and, at Susie's insistence, becomes a stockbroker. Disenchanted, he sits one morning on his bed, deep in thought, contemplating his role in life, only to be stirred by the frantic shouts of teenage boys announcing an approaching disaster. Miraculously saved, Michael soon finds himself homeless, unemployed and without Susie. But Michael's life goes on, weaving in and out of Charles Benton's life until the climatic end of the story. An adventurous roller coaster, the Philosopher King is at once comical, fantastic and terrifyingly real.