Skunk at the Picnic

This is the story of a 41-year old CIA analyst, Val Jeffries, whose personal and professional lives become hopelessly entangled, threatening to destroy not only his marriage, but all he has worked for throughout his career. As the story begins, Val runs into an old girl friend from high school at a friend's party, Melanie Newman, whom he's surprised to find has blossomed into a ravishing beauty. Even more surprising, she's married to a young Israeli diplomat. When she insists on meeting Val for lunch, apparently to discuss her marital problems, he reluctantly agrees, but it soon becomes clear that she has more in mind than that. While his relationship with Melanie is developing, Jeffries is selected to represent the CIA on a White House review of U.S. policy towards Iran in the wake of a regime change there. The issue is whether the U.S. should extend diplomatic recognition to Iran in view of what the new regime is saying and doing. Jeffries soon finds himself at odds with the leader of the review group, who believes a change of course will benefit the President's reelection chances. Jeffries believes the evidence is not sufficient as yet to support such a decision, and, in this regard, his views happen to coincide with the cantankerous Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Josephus Crosswhite, who is opposed to U.S. recognition. The government of Israel is also staunchly opposed. Thus begins a complicated story of illicit romance and political intrigue that reaches to the highest levels of the U.S. Government.