Allen Barton’s THE DIFFICULTY ADJUSTMENT concerns two financial crises, and how two men across twenty years respond to them. One is Sterling, an economics professor during 2008’s global financial crisis who is possibly also Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the Bitcoin protocol. Another is Ethan, the owner of a Los Angeles theatre during the time of Covid lockdowns, financial repression and “de-banking.” While Sterling and Ethan never meet, their stories are connected, as Ethan and his wife come to terms with the price for speaking your mind in post-Covid America.