A veteran sports columnist unexpectedly loses his job. A rebellious young writer takes a weed-clouded trip to Southern California with a tawdry dropout. An English teacher at a prep school toils in vain on a breakthrough novel, watching his teen-aged pupils grow rebellious and decadent. All are related. All are drawn together as they gradually learn they are pawns in a vast illegal conspiracy. The columnist's new job is not one he chooses. The young writer mistakenly believes she is selling drugs by choice and rationalizes it in the name of writing a tell-all novel. The teacher sees in his charges mistakes he has already made. One is another's daughter. She is the other's lover. Everything will be fine as long as they are obedient. Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Against the backdrop of a presidential election, a group of powerful men work to corner the market on the illicit sale of marijuana. They have members with ties to tobacco, entertainment, law enforcement, national security, and politics. Innocent people are being shot down in the streets by policemen who never are punished. Could this be more than coincidence? The plan seems perfect ... until the election of Martin Gaynes, a man as corrupt as those who run the Consortium. Extreme measures are necessary as a potential dictatorship rises in the tumult. No one, no matter how far from the center of power, is safe. No one can afford to mind his (or her) own business. Don't Ask, Don't Tell becomes dangerous, impractical, and deadly.