Julian Sterne arrives in the cutthroat world of electronics manufacturing with nothing but a relentless idea, a collapsing bank account, and an unbreakable will. What follows is no lucky ascent — but a brutal education in discipline, leverage, and the true cost of ambition.

From Shenzhen’s factory floors to Hong Kong’s glittering negotiations, Julian encounters women and mentors who forge him in fire: the lawyer whose uncompromising structure turns chaos into control, the factory owner who reveals power’s hidden mechanics, the temptations that threaten everything he builds, and the equal whose insight points toward a future beyond survival.

As orders surge and risks multiply — one misstep from ruin — Julian learns success demands more than endurance. It requires knowing when to yield, when to command, and when integrity becomes the most expensive currency of all.

Origins is a psychologically driven novel of ambition, power, and transformation — the beginning of Julian Sterne’s journey toward becoming the man capable of building an empire.