Purple Dots

Shortly after the president names Joshua Bennett to lead the CIA, the Senate confirmation looks like a routine step. Bennett is an obvious choice for the post, yet Washington rarely lets a sensible appointment pass quietly. Someone with a political stake wants his nomination blocked, and Bennett has no idea who that is.

Needing discreet help he can rely on, Bennett recruits a small group of retired CIA operatives who have settled in West Virginia. The group is made up of spies in their sixties and older, each with a mix of unusual, eccentric and mostly unlawful skills. Working in complete secrecy, they launch an unconventional fight for power in the capital. Hidden at the center of it all is the purple dot, a prized privilege available only to the highest-ranking figures in the nation.

Jim Lehrer, the longtime journalist and PBS NewsHour anchor, is also the author of many novels.