Chapter 7 Summary

Burnham comes home from his squash game to find his wife waiting for him in the living room. She explains that she found a microphone in the car and accuses the White House of planting it to spy on her. She tells Burnham that he has to choose between his job and his family. She packs his suitcase and sends him to live at the YMCA.

The next morning, Burnham is given a special assignment to rewrite a toast to Banda, the dictator of an oil-rich nation. Burnham calls the CIA for information about the man and learns that he is a violent, insane man. He rewrites the toast to eliminate the praise and to emphasize the relationship between the peoples of both countries. Burnham shreds some complicated technical documents for the Department of Energy.

Chapter 7 Analysis

Burnham's marriage collapses. This comes as...