The Confirmation is replete with characters who jump off the page. Cabot is a smooth careerist with a reputation for walking the straight and narrow, but his past mistakes may come to haunt him.

Brad Cameron is a junior CIA analyst whose zealous idealism could get him into deep trouble. Cabot's niece (and Brad's sometime girlfriend) Jenny Moore may be getting in over her head in Beltway intrigues. Senator Harrison Hawkins, an old bull of the Senate and chairman of the confirmation committee, fears his position is threatened by a wolfish younger colleague. George Tater, a hard-nosed New York Times reporter notorious for his ruthlessness in going after a story, has found a new lead.

Behind the scenes is Otis Jones, the quintessential backroom power broker, called in by every President for assistance in delicate matters. Dean Cutter is a Gulf War vet, struggling with the bottle and his desire for vengeance. And Myrna Rashevsky is the savvy Jewish grandmother of the CIA, who must try to help and protect Brad from his worst -- and most earnest -- instincts.

It all adds up to an engrossing and informative novel that is impossible to put down.