Governor Beauregard Swaggart is every Texan's nightmare. A governor with questionable scruples, he appears to be hell-bent on dividing Texas into five states. But his true mission is far more ominous - he has his sights set on the U.S. Presidency. Only a few things stand in his way, and he plans to deal with them when he unsheathes his precious Bowie knife. Carving up the Lone Star State isn't as easy as it may seem. He'll need to handpick governors of North, East, South, West, and his beloved Central Texas. But there are two burrs under his saddle, a persistent sleuth named Max Sinclair and the female director of the U.S. Defense Clandestine Service named Vanessa "Six" Ingram.