Set in a post-9/11, The Campus, a covert intelligence agency created by President Jack Ryan before the end of his term as chief executive. While he does not appear in the book, his son Jack Ryan Jr., as well as his nephews Dominic and Brian Caruso, are featured as The Campus operatives. He is hired by the agency as an analyst. Elsewhere, his cousin Brian Caruso is a U.S. Marine returning from Afghanistan to be decorated for his achievements in battle. His twin brother Dominic is an FBI agent who, while investigating a kidnapping of a little girl, finds her raped and killed