Artemis Fault the Elder was the head of an illegal empire that stretched from the docks of Dublin to the notorious districts of Tokyo, but he aspired to become a legitimate businessman. He bought a cargo ship, loaded two hundred fifty thousand carbonated drinks, and set sail for Murmansk in Northern Russia, where he had secured a trade agreement that would bring him huge profits in the coming decades. Unfortunately for him, the Russian mafia had no intention of ceding a share of their market to an Irish magnate and sank Fault Star into the Gulf of Kola. Artemis I was declared missing, and everyone believed him to be dead. Thus, Artemis the Younger found himself in charge of an empire with limited funds. To restore the family wealth, he engaged in illegal activities that earned him over fifteen million pounds in just two years.

Most of this enormous fortune was spent funding rescue operations in Russia. Artemis refused to believe that his father was dead, although each passing day made it seem more likely. Artemis avoided his peers and hated the boarding school he attended. He preferred to focus on planning his illegal ventures. Therefore, the rebellion of the customs officials, although his involvement in it was a traumatic, terrifying, and dangerous experience, was the best thing that could have happened to him. At the very least, he got out into the countryside and met new people. The unfortunate part was that most of them tried to kill him.