The Chain

David Hawkins is drafted in by an ex-SAS buddy to help bodyguard the US President.

Briefly, Hawkins realises that there's going to be a staged assassination attempt on the President ahead of a major conference, with POTUS's cooperation, in order to make him look like a hero and give him an excuse to declare a state of emergency - paving the way for a run for a third term unopposed.

His Secretary of War and some top generals are in on the plot and stand to be richly rewarded after the election. But then the plot is hijacked by someone else inside the Pentagon - a Chinese sleeper agent who intends to carry out the attack for real. And Hawkins is going to be the fall guy . . .