Following THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING, their 2018 bestseller, THE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER is another impressive collaboration for Bill Clinton and James Patterson, thanks to the former's firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of the presidency and the latter's ability to write action-packed scenes that make readers feel like they are right there.

Matthew Keating, a former US Navy SEAL and ex-President of the United States, has comfortably settled into retirement at his home on Lake Marie in New Hampshire. His wife Samantha, a professor of archaeology at Boston University, is away on a dig in Maine with her grad students. Their 19-year-old daughter, Melanie, is home on summer break from Dartmouth. As a former POTUS, his longtime agent in charge of Secret Service detail, David Stahl, is housed in separate quarters with other Secret Service agents.

"Fasten your seat belts and get ready for a rollercoaster ride of a read as Matt decides to go after Al-Asheed with his faithful aide and volunteer brother SEALs by his side."

Matt bids farewell to his daughter, who goes off on an overnight hike up Mount Rollins with her friend, Tim. Mel is no longer eligible for Secret Service protection once her father left office. The cutoff age for children of former presidents is mandated at 16, but her parents agree that she seems more relaxed since the cadre of armed protectors left her side. David, however, has overseen her safety since she was 13. Still concerned about her well-being, he grills her about her hiking plans as she and Tim take off.

It isn't too long before Matt's iPhone lights up with the familiar blocked NSC number. It’s Sarah Palumbo, his deputy CIA director who was demoted when President Pamela Barnes (his vice president) took office. While she was sitting in for the director at that day’s threat assessment meeting, she noted the uptick in chatter from various terrorist cells in the Middle East. They hinted at something bad on the horizon that would generate a lot of attention. She doesn't have any specific information when it comes to dates, but numerous phrases express a desire for revenge and calls for loyal jihadists everywhere to rise up.

“Mr. President, they’re coming after you,” Sarah says. She reminds Matt of how long it would take for warrants and paperwork to make their way through the bureaucratic pipeline. He cautions her that going outside channels could get her in a lot of trouble, but she responds, “I didn’t like the way you were treated when the vice president took you on. That campaign…it made me sick to my stomach. And I wasn’t going to sit on this information without warning you.”

Matt finds David hovered over his laptop, briefs him quickly and says, “I want you to get word out to your Portland office or the Maine State Police. Get coverage on my wife.... [S]ee if they can quickly get her someplace safe until we find out just what the hell is going on.... Then I want you to fire up the Suburban. You and I are going to go get Mel. Maybe take along another agent and as much firepower as we can carry.” David finally talks Matt down, reminding him that they no longer have armored vehicles or any authority to summon an army of agents and helicopters. The level of protection they enjoyed at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue no longer exists.

News that Mel is missing breaks when Tim’s body is found. Matt and Sam go immediately to the White House to meet with President Barnes. It is in the Oval Office where they watch on Al Jazeera a cut to Asim Al-Asheed. It depicts a terrified Mel, holding that day’s copy of USA Today. Al-Asheed states his price for her freedom by noon the next day: the release of three named terrorists, $100 million in bitcoin, and a complete pardon by the president for any crimes Al-Asheed has committed anywhere in the world.  

It is the last that her parents will see of Mel until her terrified face appears again on global television, with Al-Asheed holding a sabre to her throat. He has borne a vendetta against Matt since a planned attack on his jihadist group went bad while Matt was still in office, killing members of his family. He has chosen this opportunity to reap vengeance directly toward the former president. Mel stares into the camera and says, “Don’t look, Mom.”

This is just the beginning. Fasten your seat belts and get ready for a rollercoaster ride of a read as Matt decides to go after Al-Asheed with his faithful aide and volunteer brother SEALs by his side. He is determined to bring his daughter back, dead or alive.