The starship was plain to see even in low earth orbit: it was roughly the size and shape of Manhattan Island. The future had finally arrived - and lay dead in Central Park, gunned down live on world wide television. Now the aliens demand answers, and Washington scrambles to placate them. But there are those who would use this crisis for their own political ends and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The world watches nervously as the trial turns into a political circus and the United States melts down into chaos. The aliens grow increasingly impatient and the conspirators prepare for revolution. Which is the greater threat?