The Diplomatic Coup

Delphine Roget, a young French journalist, gets the chance of a lifetime to travel with Secretary of State Julia Dayton who is seen as a leading contender for President of the United States. Delphine has success on her first trips, scoring some scoops, and also attracting the attention of the handsome head of Dayton's security detail. But disturbing things start happening. Reporters and officials turn up dead. As Delphine begins to suspect Dayton's true agenda, her own life falls into greater and greater danger.

Delphine Roget, a young French journalist, gets the chance of a lifetime to travel with Secretary of State Julia Dayton who is seen as a leading contender for President of the United States. Though some of her male colleagues seem hostile, Delphine is a smart reporter and catches the eye of the Secretary who begins feeding her information. As they travel from capital to capital, Dayton promotes a Middle East peace initiative that could be a springboard for her presidential bid. And Delphine begins to fall in love with Jason, the head of the Secretary's security detail. Written by a former State Department correspondent, this book is full of authentic detail. What's it like to travel on the plane of the Secretary of State, to file stories under pressure, to attend press conferences with heads of state? Only someone who has really been there can answer these questions. As reporters and officials seen as hostile the Secretary begin to show up dead, Delphine realizes that her very life is at stake. If she allows Dayton to carry on unchecked, the United States could be ruled by a megalomaniac who will stop at nothing. But if she takes a stand, her own future could be snuffed out by a ruthless adversary.

Alan Elsner had a long career at the top ranks of American and international journalism. As State Department and later White House correspondent for Reuters News Agency, Elsner traveled the world with Secretaries of State and on Air Force One. His sharp questioning during the Rwanda genocide forced the United States to change its policy and was later highlighted in the Hollywood movie "Hotel Rwanda." As Reuters National Correspondent, Elsner was the agency's chief writer on 9/11/2001 and through the subsequent period. Elsner is the author of two novels and two works of non-fiction. His first book, "Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America's Prisons," was hailed by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy as a "wake-up call" and welcomed by the political left and right. His first novel, "The Nazi Hunter," was described by Publishers' Weekly as "a gripping debut thriller and a compelling tale." His memoir, "Guarded by Angels" about his father's Holocaust survival in World War II, was published by Yad Vashem. He spearheaded a campaign to build a fitting memorial at the site of the Belzec extermination camp in Poland where his grandparents were murdered by the Nazis. Winner of the Knight International Journalism fellowship, Elsner spent a year in Romania in 2007 teaching journalism to students and professionals and strengthening the values of a free media.