Principal Characters in the Novel
In Washington
At the State Department
Raymond Cass Stanley, Secretary of State
Mary, his wife, former ambassador to Egypt
Elizabeth (“Bets”), their daughter
Samir Hashimi, her husband
Basil Rifkin, Counselor
Hugo Mallerbie, Undersecretary for International Security Affairs
Brad Temple, Undersecretary for Political Affairs
Gage McGregor, director, policy planning
Joan Cohn-Bourassa, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs
Achmed (“Boo”) Bourassa, her husband
Reginald Pennebaker (“Penny”) Sims, former Secretary of State
At the White House
The President
The First Lady
The Vice President
Jaime Serrano, National Security Adviser
At the Pentagon
Arlie McGregor, Secretary of Defense
Gen. Wilson Rathbun, chairman, Joint Chiefs
On the Hill
Senator Richard Emmett (“Willie”) Wilson, of California, chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Rep. John Jones of Alabama, chairman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on the State Department
In the Media
James Van Rensselaer Burden, columnist and pundit: “As I See It”
Kelly Able Montague, anchorman and creator of Washington Wrangle and WorldView
Sally Holliwell, network congressional correspondent: Capitol Perspective
Timothy Bates, columnist and pundit: “It Seems to Me”
In the Diplomatic Corps
Li Peng Liu, ambassador, People’s Republic of China
Vladimir Novotny, ambassador, Second Soviet Republic
Georges Marranne, ambassador of France
Sir Anthony Marsden, ambassador of Great Britain
Kwazze Kumbatta (“KWA-zee Koom-BAH-tah”), Secretary-General, United Nations
In Georgetown
Dolly Munson, a hostess
In Greater Lolómé
In the “Pink House”
Sidi bin Sidi bin Sidi, The Wearer of the Two Hats, Light of the Horizon, Supreme Commander and President for Life of All the Peoples of Lolómé; “Seedy Sidi”
Sidi bin Sidi bin Sidi bin Sidi, his son; “Young Sidi”; “Jerk, Junior”
In the American Embassy
William (“Big Bill”) Bullock, ambassador and contributor Creed Moncrief, CIA, “assistant to the ambassador”
In Lesser Lolómé
In the Palace
Sheikh Mustafa bin Muhammed, Descendant of the Prophet, Eternal Ruler; “The Mouse”
In the American Embassy
Arthur Reeves Burton, ambassador