Duty, Honor, and Treason

Imagine a sinister meeting in which every attendee is a descendant of someone who signed the Declaration of Independence. This secret group of powerful, wealthy, and high-ranking uber patriots are plotting to overthrow the current government.

Fast forward to the evening of the president's State of the Union Address. On occasions with almost universal attendance, the White House requires an odd man out: a cabinet member who refrains from attending the SOTU in case of a crisis. Everything seems as usual--except that the guy who was supposed to sit this one out is instead quite present. In his place is the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who called in a favor and got to stay home instead.

The House Chamber is packed: members of Congress, SCOTUS, the cabinet, the military, and of course, the president and vice president. Things are just getting underway when the Capitol Building is rocked by an enormous explosion that takes out the entire structure and everyone in it. Chaos, confusion, mayhem, and upheaval ensue. And former housing secretary Sandra Guzman is as shocked as everyone that she's now the president of the United States.

Federal agencies and the general public assume an act of foreign terrorists, but the FBI's anti-terrorism specialist, Peter Tarkanian, begins to think otherwise. As he and an unlikely team of compatriots that include his secretary, an FBI pal, and even the new president begin to sift through the literal and figurative rubble for evidence and answers, their investigation draws the attention of the uber patriots. Now Tarkanian and the president are in their sights.

The rest of the story follows Tarkanian and his ragtag team as they begin to piece together the puzzle. Of course, they meet with distrust and general disarray within the FBI, CIA, NSA, the military, and other agencies, each vying for dominance, favoritism, authority, and control in the race to curry favor with the new president.

Dominant military contractors, highly classified weapons, suspicious deaths of highranking officials, authority exceeding the normal reach of various agencies taking place, and good guys gone rogue--this is a fine read packed with intrigue and danger, brilliance and intuition, logic and delusion, and ultimately, the resolution of the unthinkable.