with all the makings of a lost season for the tv series 24, and in the bestselling tradition of vince flynn, frank miles finds himself thrust into a web of deceit with the fate of the nation at stake. and the clock is ticking. three weeks before a crucial senatorial election, frank's business partner is gunned down execution-style in their d.c. office. police are quick to call it a case of robbery gone bad, but frank miles, known for his ruthless manipulation of the media, suspects something far more sinister. and after a former political opponent is brutally assassinated-after the u.s. attorney names frank his chief suspect in each of the savage murders-frank knows that someone hidden in the shadows is pulling all the strings. as frank digs deeper, he's chased through an unforgiving labyrinth of deceit and vengeance that stretches to the highest echelons of power. and with the u.s. attorney and metro police in full pursuit, frank finds himself on a harrowing journey into the heart of darkness. from the underground tunnels networking capitol hill to the dome high above, frank's electrifying race for the truth-and his life-will bring him face-to-face with power at its deadliest extremes-where winning isn't everything-for the sake of the nation-it's the only thing. "robert ellis spins a potent political thriller."-publishers weekly ***