The book provides a rigorous introduction to corporate finance and the valuation of equity. The first half of the book covers much of the received theory in these areas such as the relationship between the risk of an equity security and the return one can expect from it, the effects of leverage (that is, the borrowing policies of the firm) on the return one can expect from the firm’s shares and the role that dividends, operating cash flows and accounting earnings play in the valuation of equity. The second half of the book is more advanced and deals with the important role that "real options" (that is, as yet unexploited investment opportunities) play in the valuation of equity.