A beautiful woman butchered... A Congressman blackmailed... A secret cabal of Japanese imperialists... A small group of retired politicians form to protect America. The Council of Patriots is born. Former Marine Cal Stokes, and his team at SSI, head to Las Vegas, to uncover an invisible enemy that threatens to infiltrate the Democratic National Convention. What is their endgame, and more importantly: Who is the American politician pulling the strings? With assassins around every corner, and a supposed ally manipulating both sides, Stokes must carefully utilize his team and the Council to stop the rise of a new empire.