The near future. The old UN turned into an Organization, a full-fledged world government, but could not become a panacea for the troubles of mankind. States are in no hurry to give up their sovereignty amid global cataclysms. China is devastated by a man-made disaster. Africa is mired in civil strife. In the Middle East, the Islamic State has dug in. Revolts erupt and technoreligies appear, power falls into the hands of omnipotent corporations, and fundamentalists win the elections. The Northern Alliance - a union of the United States, Russia and Europe - is suffocating with internal problems. The national leader of the city-state of Shanghai, Rev. Jones, threatens to start a nuclear war from day to day. Lenro Aveltz is an adventurer, hypocrite and cynic, heir to a huge fortune and a radical globalist. After graduating from the Abberton Political Academy, he takes up "service to humanity" and begins his way up - to the highest posts in the Organization, in the future meaning absolute power over the world.
