Ambassador, The

A disgraced politician relegated to an ambassadorial post in a third world nation rediscovers the principles that began his career and stands off a tyrant's besieging army to protect the refugees that sought shelter within embassy walls. The Ambassador is an exploration of the nature of good and evil and a deeply moving story about the power of redemption. The little girl was gutshot. Her father held her outside the gate. He begged as junta soldiers closed in and rounds CRACKED past and Marines shouted. He begged as she bled. All the while, her eyes were on me. What would you do? Jackson Ford’s a disgraced former governor who recognizes a second chance when the president’s chief of staff dangles it. The president needs an ambassador in a third-world nation. Someone to help local tyrants stamp out insurrection while keeping privation and violence out of the election-year news. Jackson Ford is a tough idealist, but, as a result of his fall from political grace, this administration makes it clear that his qualification is best summed in one word . . . Obedience. When a rebel leader shows up outside the embassy gates with a wounded child in his arms and soldiers closing in, Ford can watch the girl bleed out or invoke the wrath of dictators and the president. Ford’s decision to provide sanctuary puts the embassy under siege. Ford and the US Marines are outmanned, outgunned, and outmaneuvered by an army outside their walls, even as they’re betrayed by enemies within. Ford doesn’t know if they’re defending the Alamo or Bastogne, but he does know they will not betray the ideals that should stir in the heart of anyone who sees the American flag aloft and under fire.