She was president of the United States. She was idealistic, charismatic, a winner. And then, suddenly, Melanie Lombard was dead.

One year later, on the first anniversary of Melanie's assassination, her best friend, Nora Whitney, finds herself at the center of a political and personal maelstrom. Mysterious "accidents" keep occurring; Nora is under pressure from the new president to mobilize Melanie Lombard's on-the-edge political network for his programs; she is shocked to discover that the woman she thought she knew so well may have had a secret life. As Nora struggles to avoid scandal, and searches for the truth, someone tries to love her, even as someone else tries to stop her, permanently.