A Simple Plan

infobox Book |
name = A Simple Plan
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image_caption = 1st edition cover
author = Scott Smith
illustrator =
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country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Thriller
publisher = Knopf
pub_date = August 31, 1993
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover) & Paperback
pages = 335 pp
isbn = ISBN 0679419853
preceded_by =
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"A Simple Plan" is a novel by American author Scott Smith that was published in 1993. A movie based on the novel, directed by Sam Raimi, was released 1998. "A Simple Plan" is predominantly a moral tale which deals with issues of greed, the American dream and the nature of good and evil. The main characters are depicted as everyday people who have "normal" values and ambitions, and thus their actions are intended somewhat as a cautionary tale. The value of human life quickly becomes the highest priority perverted by the pursuit of easy wealth, after which all else follows in attempts to hide wrong-doing.

Plot summary

The novel's protagonist is Hank Mitchell, an accountant and family man. One day Hank and his elder brother Jacob set out to visit their father's grave, accompanied by Lou, Jacob's drinking-buddy. Their car is cut off by a fox and crashes into a ditch. Jacob's dog gives chase to the fleeing fox and disappears into a nature preserve. All three men go after the dog and stumble upon a crashed plane; inside the plane is a gym bag with $4,400,000 in one-hundred-dollar notes.

Hank wants to turn the money over to the authorities, but Jacob and Lou, both poor and unemployed, want to keep it. The compromise: Hank will hold onto the money and not spend any of it until the plane is discovered in spring. If there is any mention of the missing cash, they will burn it; otherwise, they will split it equally.

Hank tells his wife Sarah about the plan and she reluctantly accepts the idea. The following day Hank and Jacob return to the plane and plant several thousand dollars in the cockpit. They are thinking that when the plane is found nobody will ask if there was more. Jacob stays to guard the truck when a curious Mr. Pederson pulls up on a snowmobile. He had noticed some tracks in the snow and followed them. In a panic, Jacob hits and apparently kills Pederson. Hank starts to move the body, Pederson awakens and with no apparent alternative, Hank suffocates Pederson himself.

Jacob tells Lou that Hank murdered Pederson. Having already racked up a sizable gambling debt in anticipation of his newfound wealth, Lou uses this information to try and blackmail Hank for a third of the money ahead of schedule. At Sarah's urging, the Mitchell brothers con Lou into saying he killed Pederson; in the resulting scuffle, Lou and his girlfriend Nancy are both killed by the Mitchell brothers. Hank attempts to stage the murders as a domestic dispute, killing Lou’s neighbor in the process. Jacob makes it clear that he's uncomfortable with the set-up, so Hank shoots and kills his brother. The police believe exactly what Hank hoped they would.

Later, as a present for Sarah, Hank buys a Florida condo at an auction. The auction turns out to be a scam and Hank loses the vast majority of their savings. With his savings gone, he and Sarah need the airplane money more than ever.

Soon afterward, Hank learns that the FBI is looking for a lost plane with $4.4 million on board. The money turns out to be a ransom that was demanded for the release of a kidnapped teenager and heiress. Hank is called in for questioning by the police and he learns that the ransom money was marked: every tenth bill had its serial number recorded. If the money is spent, it will be traced.

Realizing the money is worthless; Hank calls Sarah, who informs him that she has already spent one of the $100 bills. Hank frantically inquires about where she used the money—a convenience store near an airport—and goes there to steal back the bill. He pulls a machete on the cashier, who locks the two of them inside and attacks Hank; he is forced to kill the cashier in self defense. As he is cleaning up the body, an elderly woman stops by the store, demanding to be let in to buy a bottle of wine as a gift. Hank tries to shoo her off, but she will not relent, so he murders her. Hank escapes with the $100 and is never suspected.

Hank goes home and burns the money over Sarah's protests. A few years later, Hank and Sarah have a baby boy, whom they name Jacob. A few weeks later their daughter Amanda nearly drowns in a wading pool, suffering permanent brain damage. Hank and Sarah both feel as if this is punishment for their crimes. They are far worse off than they were before. The guilt over their actions haunts them relentlessly throughout their every moment. The novel ends as Hank laments his weakness, wondering how normal people such as himself could succumb to such great evil.

Film version