After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in, and to everyone's surprise the president chooses a political enemy for the vital position of secretary of state.
As the new president addresses Congress for the first time, with Secretary Ellen Adams in attendance, Anahita Dahir, a young foreign service officer on the Pakistan desk at the State Department, receives a baffling text from an anonymous source.
Too late, she realizes the message was a hastily coded warning.
As the horrifying scale of the threat becomes clear, Secretary Adams and her team realize it has been carefully planned to take advantage of four years of an American government out of touch with international affairs, out of practice with diplomacy, and out of power in the places where it counts the most.
