Book excerpt: This humor-filled tale of political corruption, ingratitude, and revenge concerns an idealistic young Washington attorney who persuades her former law professor, a man of lofty rhetoric, to run for Congress. Ideals shrivel in the Washington air as the professor is swept into an insider's circle that includes a leering, power-drunk senator and a slinky, Southern power broker. When the heroine is snubbed by the politically powerful at a fancy restaurant, her hurt feelings precipitate an all-out war. She promotes a sex scandal that unexpectedly makes her the darling of the religious right.