Book excerpt: Before 1986, Texas enjoyed a world-class image. Due to the oil crisis, the Savings and Loan debacle, bank failures, and the real estate market crash, Texas is on the verge of economic collapse. With tragedy striking all around, Sidney Gordon's life is about to change along with the future of her home state. After the death of her husband, Sidney is encouraged by Oliver Eberly, a Texas businessman and former United States congressman, to accept the job of press secretary for the governor of Texas. For the first time, she finds herself compromised by her personal responsibilities as a mother and her own undefined ambitions as a woman. Thrown into a world both foreign to her experience and nature, Sidney must rise to the challenge and tap into her inner reserves with the determination and tenacity of a pumping East Texas oil well. Often stretched beyond her limits with one high-pressure conflict after another, Sidney discovers that the destiny of the state lies in her hands. With the backing of her blue-ribbon committee of scholars and experts, she forms the Austin Agenda and heads to Washington with a solution so controversial it stalks the thin line of treason.