Jason McLane – XIII – has just taken a shot at the pope during an official visit to Washington DC. If he hadn't, two innocent hostages would have paid the price. Granted, General Wolf's orders were always to maintain his cover at all costs, but the plans of the Mayflower conspirators – the same people that XIII was supposed to infiltrate but now control him through blackmail – are appallingly more complex and dangerous than just this assassination attempt. American democracy itself is in danger …