The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance by economist and professor Russell Roberts aims to inform readers of real economic principles and theories via accessible romance fiction. Originally published in 2001, the novel reflects the dynamic economic situation of that time, as well as ongoing debates in the fields of economics and politics. The novel’s protagonists, Sam and Laura, are high school teachers who engage in a series of debates on the ethics of different economic models. Sam, an economics teacher, advocates for a free market system largely free from government intervention. Laura, an English teacher, questions whether any system can be free from significant cruelty without oversight. Various references to 19th-century British literature throughout the novel suggest that “romance” encompasses both a love story and a sense of idealism common in that literary movement. The novel’s main themes include Art’s Ability to Forge Connections, The Ethics of Free Markets Versus Government Regulation, and Self-Interest Versus Altruism.

This guide references the 2002 MIT Press paperback edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

The novel takes place in 2001 and covers a full year in the lives of Sam Gordon and Laura Silver. Sam is a veteran economics teacher at the fictional Edwards School in Washington, DC, while Laura is beginning her first year as an English teacher there. The novel opens with the first day of classes and introduces each protagonist’s teaching style. Sam is gregarious and unconventional, while Laura is passionate and dreamy. Sam approaches economics from a real-world perspective, offering his students rhetorical examples and theoretical background rather than focusing on the mathematical models. Laura teaches classic 19th-century British novels and poetry, encouraging her students to explore not just meaning but the power of language as well.

Interspersed with the primary Sam and Laura plot is a parallel plot revealed late in the novel to be a popular television show Laura watches regularly. The show follows heroine Erica Baldwin, who works at the fictional Office of Corporate Responsibility, and her efforts to expose chief executive officer (CEO) Charles Krauss’s immoral business practices. Charles runs a pharmaceutical company that hides drug trial data, revealing a particular drug is dangerous to patients. Charles cuts costs by closing his American production plant and moving to Mexico, where the workers are paid extremely low wages and safety protocols are essentially non-existent. Brave employees come forward, reporting the dangerous conditions and unethical work practices at the company, leading to senate hearings into Charles’s actions. Ultimately, the investigation turns sinister when Erica discovers information from the investigation is being leaked and a primary witness is run down by a car.

Two months into the semester, Sam and Laura meet for the first time. Laura sees Sam giving an unhoused person some money at the entrance to the metro station. She makes a joke about the seeming disparity between his generosity and his field of study. The joke opens a debate on the morality of giving. As they ride the train together, Sam eagerly explains his views on altruism and laws designed to protect people from themselves. The conversation and ride end with Laura accusing Sam of holding evil views. In late December, Sam and Laura encounter one another in the teacher’s lounge, and Laura’s offhand remark about teachers being overworked and underpaid sparks a debate on wage fairness. Again, Laura is struck by Sam’s passion about economics but declines his dinner invitation at the conclusion of the debate. Sam opens a letter from the school’s principal informing him of a decision to recommend he be fired.

Sam and Laura’s next chance meeting is at the dry cleaner. Laura expresses her frustration that men’s shirts are cheaper to clean than women’s. Sam takes her to get coffee, and they discuss how prices are set by market forces and whether the price difference is unfair or simply different. This third discussion is less acrimonious than the first two. Laura concedes both that the way the market works contains beauty and wonder and that the dry-cleaning costs make sense when fully understood. Sam encourages her to keep challenging him, to find more evidence to support her view, which endears him to her; however, she still refuses his invitation to dinner.

On a beautiful day in March, Laura joins Sam for lunch in the school courtyard. She has just seen an ominous folder in the administrative office. Their conversation focuses on Laura’s work rather than Sam’s. He asks her to read him the poem she’s teaching, and her reading turns to a dreamy recitation, which enchants Sam. The intensity of the moment makes Laura uncomfortable, so she tries to change the subject. Sam avoids engaging on economics again and excuses himself to meet the principal; this inspires Laura to invite him to dinner at her parents’ house. At the dinner, Laura’s beauty strikes Sam. Although he initially gets along well with the dinner party guests, Laura’s brother Andrew goads him into a debate. Sam allows himself to become too angry and leaves the party with an apology. At home, Sam is frustrated with his lack of self-control. He is awakened by the doorbell, and instead of Laura, he finds an envelope containing documents that could save his job.

Two months pass, and Laura ignores Sam’s attempts at an apology until one afternoon when she’s grading in an unused classroom and overhears Sam’s class. She is impressed by his teaching and surprised to hear him defending ideas with which he disagrees. His use of philosophical questions as class games strikes her as engaging, fun, and challenging for the students. She also discovers that he hates television and that he believes the elimination of television would be a net positive for society. At the end of the class, which is focused on unseen positive and negative consequences of laws, she sees the students gathered around him and wonders if one of them—a girl named Amy Hunt—might be the reason for the rumors that Sam is going to be fired.

A few days later, Sam goes to Laura’s apartment for dinner. He discovers she’s an accomplished cook, and she discovers he’s a Frank Sinatra fan. Their dinner discussion centers on charity and welfare. Sam argues that even though private charity might not be able to raise equal money to welfare funded by taxes, the dignity of those served would be lifted by a competitive private charity market. At the end of the evening, Laura asks if he’s been fired. He tells her he has, that he may appeal, and that he’ll tell her the details as soon as he can. They kiss goodnight, and she invites him to a gathering of her friends.

The next time he arrives at her apartment he meets her friends, and they all watch an episode of a television show Laura and her friends follow. It becomes clear that the television show is the Erica/Charles plotline that has been interspersed with Laura and Sam’s story. Following this revelation, that plotline ends. When the show is over, Laura’s friends ask Sam for his perspective as an economist. In an attempt to avoid a repeat of the heated argument with Laura’s brother, Sam lies and says what he believes they want to hear from him. After her friends leave, Laura is angry with Sam for his deceit. They discuss the show and get to the core of Sam’s beliefs about The Ethics of Free Markets Versus Government Regulation. They kiss again, and Sam goes home while Laura wonders what she wants from him, given that he may be leaving.

The next day is the end of the school year. Sam teaches his last class, focusing on the ethics of environmental legislation and economics. He surprises his students by explaining why he supports government intervention to protect the environment. He tells the students he’s leaving the school and gives an emotional goodbye. After class, he gives Amy back the contents of the envelope he received earlier in the year. He explains that he couldn’t use them in good conscience. The day before graduation, Sam and Laura have a picnic lunch near the Jefferson Memorial. They discuss why he’s leaving the school. He was accused of bias in his classroom and advocating pro-business politics. Sam insists he isn’t pro-business, but pro-capitalism, however he has decided not to fight the decision. He tells Laura he doesn’t want to work for an organization that doesn’t want him. Laura is scandalized by the unfairness of the decision, which leads to a discussion of anti-discrimination law as well as the overall value of law itself. Sam counsels Laura to make the world a better place by taking many small actions, rather than trying to force the world to be better via the law.

Laura acts as advisor for the senior skit show that allows the graduating seniors to poke fun at their teachers. After a generally entertaining show, Amy and her classmates perform an encore. They have written a song for Sam to the tune of “If I Only Had a Brain” from The Wizard of Oz. The song expresses their gratitude to Sam and their anger at the administration’s decision. Sam leaves quickly as Laura tears up and the principal angrily confiscates the video of the event.

The novel ends at the start of the new school year. Laura sees Fast Eddie, the unhoused man regularly located at the metro station. Sam surprises her by repeating her joke from a year prior. He explains he’s been with his sister all summer, is now substitute teaching while looking for a new position, and is moving back to Washington, DC, because he wants to pursue their romance. The novel closes with Sam quoting Robert Burns and the pair discussing poetry as they walk into the sunshine of the late summer day.