Corey Grace, a handsome and charismatic Republican senator from Ohio, is locked in a fierce presidential primary battle with the favorite of the party establishment and an influential Christian leader. A decorated Gulf War Air Force pilot known for speaking his mind, Grace's reputation for voting his conscience rather than the party line—together with his growing romance with an African-American movie star—has earned him a reputation as a maverick and an iconoclast. But Grace is still haunted by a tragic mistake buried deep in his past, and his integrity will be put to the test in this most brutal of political contests, in which nothing in his past or present life is off-limits. As the pressure intensifies, Grace must come to terms with his ambitions and decide just how much he's willing to sacrifice in order to achieve them.

Richard North Patterson is the author of fourteen previous bestselling and critically acclaimed novels. Formerly a trial lawyer, Patterson served as the SEC’s liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor and has served on the boards of several Washington advocacy groups dealing with gun violence, political reform, and women’s rights. He lives in San Francisco and on Martha’s Vineyard.