The search for Boxer Santaros has reached up into the highest levels of national security. His mother-in-law, Nana Mae Frost, is the wife of the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Texas Senator Bobby Frost. Nana Mae is the former deputy director of the NSA, and she has recently been named head of US-Ident--a colossal think tank formed under the protection of the PATRIOT Act. US-Ident has just opened its first surveillance facility in downtown Los Angeles, as the Republicans race to secure the state of California for the first time in many years. Meanwhile--Ronald Taverner has begun preparations for his role in a dangerous game of political extortion instigated by the Neo-Marxists. He is haunted by a recurring dream that could unlock the key to a top secret scientific experiment.