For General James Scott Fitzgerald III, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Second American Revolution begins with a bellyache. How is he, an honorable man, to keep President Alan Gordon and Vice President Mark Bingham from turning the United States of America into a socialist nation under their complete control? On doctor's orders, he arranges to take six weeks of vacation in Starfield Valley without letting anyone know where he is. At Union Station while he waits for his train, he meets Michelle Baker, PR director for Starfield Valley, who is headed home after doing her best to counter the efforts of the Gordon Administration to destroy the village through the power of regulation. Together they return to Starfield Valley to learn how to apply the principle that the best defense is no offense and one hell of a protective shield against all the forces arrayed against them. But can they ward off the one thing that shield can't withstand-a nuclear strike?