Flying by Night

A software engineer accustomed to late-night coding binges in dark computer centers co-founds DTX in the early 1990s at the dawn of the tech boom. A decade later, just before that bubble inevitably bursts, he and his partners sell DTX to the highest bidder. Getting there, however, is a bumpy ride that bounces him from New Jersey to Scotland, India, Pleasure Island, and numerous points in between, teaching him more than tech: food and wine, movies and music, soccer and golf, dogs (real and imaginary), and a mangy parrot. More than anything else, he learns that business and friendship make a volatile mix when his best friend—his erstwhile high school crush—joins DTX, working with him and against him through a series of partnership disputes that threaten the suddenly successful start-up. As the company grows, the once timid back-room techie emerges as a leader. Meanwhile, his friendship is put through a series of tests. Looking back at an unconventional past, he agonizes over their business disputes and sublimated feelings—and ultimately finds a new path forward.