One of my favorite jokes is the old W.C. Fields classic. "Madam, would you sleep with me for a million dollars?" She mulls it over and says, "Yes, I think I would." The man counters, "Would you sleep with me for ten dollars?" Indignant, she asks, "What do you think I am?" His reply: "I think we've already established that. We're merely haggling over the price."

A funny joke. But there's plenty of wisdom in it, too. Do we live on a sliding scale of morality? Does right and wrong depend on how great the temptation is, how high the stakes? Or do we live by a code of moral certainties? Somewhere between those deep questions and the timeless humor of W.C. Fields lies Found Money.

I've always been fascinated by the concept of sudden wealth. The way it changes people - friendships, families. The spark for Found Money was simple enough. My father's cousin bought a new house. He started renovating the basement, and demolished a wall. Behind it, he found a coffee can. Inside the can was cash — $20,000! He knocked down another wall and found another can. In it, another $17,000. His dilemma was this. Should he tell the former owner that he'd packed up and left without his money? Or should he zip his lip and keep the loot?

You may be interested to know that, after a recent speech I gave to 200 middle school children in Coral Gables, the vote was almost unanimous: "finders keepers."

FOUND MONEY: HarperCollins Publishers: May 2001 Behind the Writing of the Novel: Copyright 2000 James Grippando