David McAllan is covertly recruited and managed by the CIA to work at a think tank which will help form United States policies for many years. The diverse group working at the think tank combine their skills to evaluate election campaigns, war strategies, social policies, trade policies, and much more. David's most important project created a secret plan that he hopes will never be implemented. However; long after David is gone, the plan is reevaulated to eliminate a "Threat to Democracy." The story successfully integrates historical accuracy with speculative fiction, creating a thought-provoking exploration of how populism, technology, and geopolitics shaped the past and the future.