Jackson Ford's a disgraced former governor who recognizes a second chance when the president's chief of staff dangles it. The president needs an ambassador in a third-world nation. Someone to help local tyrants stamp out insurrection while keeping privation and violence out of the election-year news. Ford is a tough idealist, but, this administration makes it clear that they don't want idealism. They expect one thing. Obedience. When a rebel leader shows up outside the embassy gates with a wounded child in his arms and soldiers closing in, Ford can watch the girl bleed out or invoke the wrath of dictators and the president. Ford's decision to provide sanctuary puts the embassy under siege. He and the Embassy Marines are outgunned by the army outside their walls, and betrayed by the enemies within. Ford doesn't know if history will liken their stand to the Alamo or to Bastogne, but he does know they will not betray the ideals that should stir in the heart of anyone who sees the American flag aloft and under fire.