This book investigates how the experience of debt default is lived, negotiated, and managed within contemporary financialized societies. Joe Deville, a sociologist specializing in the study of markets and debt, examines the intersection of financial systems and personal experience. By analyzing the interactions between debtors, creditors, and debt collection agencies, the author argues that default is not merely a failure of repayment but a complex social process that shapes individual identities and institutional practices.

Experts in economic sociology recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of financial precarity and market interactions. Readers frequently note the academic rigor of the prose, which provides a detailed look at the often-hidden mechanisms of debt management.