Finance is not evil. Capitalism is not a conspiracy. Ignorance of the role played by investment banks is fueling global anti-capitalist movements, and so it is crucial that everyone understands how banks help companies raise capital and help stock and bond markets run efficiently. "Finance: The Big Picture" is a brief and easy to read overview of the world of money explaining who the big players are, what they do, and why they do it. If you want to see how global markets fit together then this is the book for you.This is a self-contained excerpt from a larger book called "A Financial Bestiary". The Bestiary contains more technical details, such as how to price derivatives and bonds. Readers do not need to refer to the Bestiary unless they have a professional interest in Finance or want to delve deeper.Readers can find out more from the Bestiary web site which gives detailed contents of the book, some financial code in R and some of my writing on other related financial topics:http://www.nakisa.org/bestiary