The first female president of the United States? Senator Alison Bowman has what it takes--intelligence, political savvy, grace and an unstained character. Almost. Because now, at the height of her career, she is being threatened by a blackmailer. The man is threatening to sell her political enemies a lurid videotape, filmed without her knowledge in the stateroom of a cruise ship, that proves she has had an affair.

Washington lawyer Steve Bentley agrees to help Alison get the blackmailer off her back. But before he can act, the predator is killed--and it looks as though the senator is responsible. Steve is forced to do a clean-up job that leaves him racked with suspicion and guilty knowledge. Soon he is being stalked by hired thugs and framed for the murder of the senator's estranged husband. Keeping out of jail becomes top priority as Steve fights the vise being inexorably tightened on him by powerful and dedicated enemies. Suddenly, he has become a pawn in a game whose players will commit any act in order to win, whether it be blackmail, perjury--or murder.