Cotton Malone has been called on to defend his country's safety in man y exotic locations around the world, often using his knowledge of hist ory to get to the heart of mysteries and conspiracies stretching back for centuries. But never has the danger been quite so close to home. A stunning opening sets the tone of explosive action and mind-bending i ntrigue as Cotton battles an extraordinary group of families whose uns een influence dates back to the pages of the U.S. Constitution - and w hose thirst for power is about to be satisfied by the cracking of a co de devised by Thomas Jefferson himself.