The overwhelming theory advanced in this novel is that the world is run by an international, apolitical cabal of bankers. According to the author's voice, the American Civil War was planned in London in 1857 in order to raise vast sums of money. This cabal of the "Elite" has no nationalistic prejudices, for they are loyal only to each other and to their banking interests.

When Abraham Lincoln talked forgiveness for the South and threatened the extravagant hopes for plunder and profit from the vanquished land, he was eliminated. When Garfield showed sympathy for the plight of immigrant worker, he was eliminated. McKinley did not want a Spanish-American War (although his vice president did), and he too was eliminated. When Rory Armagh, groomed for the presidential nomination in 1912, decides to blow the whistle on the Elite, he is also assassinated.

Being apolitical, members of the Elite are...