The most influential men in Russia, including the country's corrupt head of state, have gathered in a Moscow cemetery in the dead of winter to bury a fallen comrade. Before the ceremony has concluded, however, blood will stain the snow-covered ground, and Russia's ultimate power will have fallen into the hands of a man of ruthless and insane ambition.U.S. President Madeline Turner has already weathered global crises, treachery, and insurrection in her own cabinet during the first months of her administration, and it has made her a stronger, more able leader. But her effectiveness will be tested to its limits now that the balance of power has shifted dangerously and dramatically in Europe. Closer to home, a small personal emergency has brought a one-time hero and Air Force legend into her life: Matt Pontowski, who will become the proud, capable yet lonely and beleaguered Commander-in-Chief's confidant, friend, and more.Meanwhile, a fearsome, re-emergent Russian bear is on a rampage, spurred on by a criminal government in control of an awesome military arsenal. A suddenly vulnerable Poland faces invasion and possible extinction — not only from Russia, but from a newly emboldened expansionist Germany. And soon a brazen act of aggression has locked a determined Maddy Turner into a war of wits and weaponry with the fearless cabal of drug runners and murderers who now rule a one — time empire — a war that could reshape the face of the world and the future of freedom, and decide the fate of the President herself; whether she lives or dies.