This political novel, set in the near future, centers on a high-stakes secret mission undertaken by United States President Lambert. While ostensibly attending a conference in England, President Lambert is actually on a meticulously planned covert journey to Moscow and Peking. His critical task is to mediate the dangerously deteriorating relations between Red China and the Soviet Union. The President is aware that the Russian Premier is desperately ill and that China may have developed a new, destabilizing weapon that threatens the nuclear balance of power. However, he is unaware that his presence may inadvertently trigger a brilliant conspiracy for a military takeover of the Soviet Union, leading to unwitting U.S. involvement in the potential coup and a looming Sino-Soviet war.
