Chapter 8 Summary

Burnham goes to play squash and is paired with Eva Pym. After a very physical game, she invites him to lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. The President calls him for a sudden meeting. At the meeting, the President praises Burnham's writing and lets him sit in on an emergency security crisis briefing held by Epstein. The emergency situation is that an American yacht called the Bilitis that has entered Cuban waters and is threatening to blow up a Russian tanker. Burnham recognizes the names of the yacht as the same as the one that is owned by his wife's transsexual relative, Teresa.

Burnham tells the President to let him figure out the situation. He consults with Teresa and finds out that the whole emergency is just a misunderstanding. He takes care of the crisis and writes a recommendation letter for the President's nephew...