The year is 2000 and the US presidential race is well under way. Jack Crane, a charismatic war hero, is pulling ahead on the final straight against his liberal rival, Milton Byrne.

Enter Paul Drummond, a hypnotherapist in Los Angeles, who treats the rich and neurotic, as well as undertaking forensic hypnosis for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Little does Drummond know that this police case will lead him into a web of intrigue. Delving into the amnesiac mind of Tom Keegan, witness to a robbery, Drummond realises that the seat of Keegan's torment lies deep in his mind . . . and deep in the past. What was the enigmatic role Keegan played in the Vietnam War?

Together with Detective Dick Gage and LA Times reporter Karen Beale, Drummond embarks on a quest for the truth . . . soon to become a struggle for survival - their survival - as the election clock ticks.

What is locked in Keegan's subconscious? Who are the powerful forces lined up against Drummond? What secrets does his hypnotherapy threaten to reveal?