This exciting political thriller chronicles the campaign and early days of a new president, M. Spencer Howell, popular and charismatic ex-governor of Florida. He and his administration enact bold new reforms with the support of a vast majority of Americans.

Some people in and out of the government grow vaguely apprehensive about some of the details, including the development of a terrifying new weapon. But the innate character of the president and the honesty of his motives dampen their concerns. But what happens without Howell?

These initiatives may take new and ominous turns if Howell's cautious hand no longer controls the apparatus his plans have set in motion.

Howell's administration and other Washington players all affect events in their own way and for their own purposes. And, weaving through all the various motives and cross-purposes lurks the shadowy figure of Horatio Tremane, an enigmatic little man with a mysterious past. Who is he and what bond does he share with the Vice-President, a former Army general and Medal of Honor recipient who once headed up NATO during the cold war?