In the late 19th century, Baring Brothers & Co. was one of the oldest and most prestigious merchant banks in London, financing everything from the Louisiana Purchase to the Napoleonic Wars. But in 1890, their insatiable appetite for high-yield emerging market debt brought the entire British Empire to the brink of financial collapse. The bank had aggressively over-leveraged itself in speculative Argentine railway and infrastructure bonds. When the Argentine economy suddenly collapsed into hyperinflation and defaulted on its sovereign debt, Barings was left holding millions in worthless paper. Facing the immediate bankruptcy of London's premier financial institution, the Bank of England realized the ensuing contagion would destroy the global economy. This book chronicles the frantic, unprecedented week where the Bank of England secretly orchestrated a massive bailout consortium, forcing rival banks to pledge millions in gold to guarantee Barings' liabilities. Uncover the genesis of "too big to fail." A gripping financial history detailing how reckless South American speculation forced the invention of the modern central banking rescue.