The main character of the novel is Evan Kendrick, a stereotypical American hero. George Washington declared that all he really wanted to do was farm his land; he was a general and politician out of necessity. Kendrick similarly declares that all he desires is to run a construction business; his involvement in politics is necessary to clean up the political life of his congressional district. He is handsome, tall, bold, courageous, intelligent, and rigidly ethical. These traits make him the ideal political candidate for the secret society, Inver Brass, which seeks to keep the United States on a sound moral course. Kendrick is a reluctant politician, but Inver Brass intends to force him to become vice president by maneuvering him into a public position from which he cannot escape. The American public will see him as such a great hero that it will demand that he accept the...