Bright,, well connected, and good looking, Michael De Benedetti looks forward to his second diplomatic posting in Santiago, Chile. After a military coup there and the establishment of a ruthless dictatorship, his enthusiasm quickly wanes. The indiscriminate violence of General Augusto Pinochet's regime is bad enough, but Michael is enraged by his own government's behavior.

Throughout Latin America, the U.S. tolerates the hunting, torture, and murder of often innocent civilians—including the woman who will become his wife—as long as these governments take a firm stance against Communism. It isn't long before Michael realizes the situation is even worse. The U.S. government often cooperates in, even directs and finances, the violence.

Determined to change the trajectory of American diplomacy, Michael embarks on a career that will take him from Chile to Mexico and then on to Nicargua and Guatemala, finally becoming one of the architects of U.S. diplomacy. He has one firm, guiding principle—look to the long game based on humane, enlightened adherence to the values espoused in the U.N. charter.