Andrew Rand of Wyland, Ohio, is a freshman Democratic representative at the start of the Obama administration. Deep in the corridors of political power, he will find a broken system: a liberal party in power and out of control, passing legislation that its constituents neither desire nor need, with its members under constant political and personal pressure to "fundamentally transform the nation." Soon, Andrew will struggle with the question of what he's willing to sacrifice in order to win reelection. Meanwhile, his wife, Carolyn-a brilliant, apolitical woman from a family of radical academics-will struggle not only with the emotional fallout of her husband's choices, but with her own awakening conservative conscience as well. Weaving contemporary political satire with an emotionally devastating plot, novelist Tim McDaniel imagines the rise of the conservative Tea Party to national prominence, a rise seen through the eyes of characters from all walks of American life: a housewife who decides to challenge the powers that be in her home district, a Texan radio host with a gift for caustic political insight, a campaign manager concealing a secret romantic ambition, student radicals, disenchanted factory workers, and more. A Bitter Cup of Tea serves up a bitterly funny vision of contemporary America: a land whose leaders have betrayed its people, and whose people are beginning to fight back.