The Fear Index centers on Dr Alex Hoffman, a computer scientist and genius who is ready to make a killing. Alongside his Hedge Fund business partner and best friend, Hugo, he's launching VIXAL-4 to investors - an AI-driven system that exploits fear in the financial markets and operates at lightning speed to make big returns. The promise is billions, the rich are ready to get richer... but this is not the day Alex and Hugo had planned on. What follows is a fast-paced journey through the worst 24 hours of Alex's life - cutting across reality, memory and paranoid fantasy, forcing him to question everything he sees with his own eyes.