2000 1st edition "February 2000 First Edition" stated; Doubleday publishers, New York; hardbound in navy blue boards with silver lettering on spine; very good condition with unmarked pages; dust jacket very good.
 
Plot -
Three former judges (known as "The Brethren") incarcerated at Trumble, a fictional federal minimum security prison located in northern Florida, develop a scam to deceive and exploit wealthy closeted gay men. None of them are gay, but they write convincingly as two young vulnerable gay men, Ricky and Percy, undergoing therapy. They also attach attractive photos of men they know nothing about. They first develop a friendship and then ask for financial help. In some cases, they also try blackmail.
 
With the help of their lawyer, Trevor Carson, they transfer their ill-gotten money to a secret Bahamian bank account. He takes one-third, and also employs private detectives to investigate the men they have contacted. This takes over from his normal legal business, which had been making very little money for him.
Meanwhile, Teddy Maynard, the ruthless and soon-to-retire director of the CIA, is orchestrating a scheme to control the United States presidential election. Aaron Lake, a strongly pro-defense expenditure Congressman has been identified, and Maynard is determined to control him and then get him elected. He is to run on a program of doubling military spending, and arms manufacturers support him. The CIA director, determined to get Lake elected, is completely ruthless, even to the extent of colluding in a terrorist plot to blow up the U.S. embassy in Cairo and killing 80 Americans in order to create the public atmosphere conducive for election of a defense-oriented candidate.
 
Unknowingly, the Brethren hook Teddy's candidate for President. He is a widower and has lady friends, but also has a secret gay side...