Jon Bennett is an advisor to the U.S. President.
The main character, Bennett, begins the series as one of the shrewdest operators on Wall Street. He is 40 years old with "wavy dark hair, grayish-green eyes and rakish good looks". He is still single, 6' tall, and possesses a well-honed body from an obsession with running. He is not as famous a investment strategist as others who frequent the business talk shows while plying their trade, indeed he makes it a point to remain as unknown as he can for by being unknown he is considered unimportant and thus ignored. That makes his moves so unexpected and his windfalls so high.
But Bennett did not trade in stocks or bonds or commodities as most the people in the financial district. Bennett traded information and he was exceptional in his work. When others had high level meetings with Chairmen and CEOs and shakers and movers, which Bennett did as well from time to time, he also talked with limo drivers and maitre d's and doormen and bank tellers and janitors and secretaries and anyone else who might be able to give tidbits of information. He was on the phone constantly while in his office but he was also out on the street a good deal of time. This paid off tremendously as his database of a brain was packed with facts that would be useful some time in the future.
All this work was in response to a directive from his boss at Global Strategix, a combination of research facility and venture capital fund. That order had been to make GSX the financial equivilent of the CIA and Bennett had accomplished that goal.
Bennett is also a friend of long standing with the current President, a friendship made years before the Man made a run for the office. Bennett had not made use of that connection, though, as that was not the type of man he was.
As the series opens, though, a business idea which he believes might be the secret to peace in the Middle East takes him to the White House with a proposal. It also takes him from the cutthroat world of finance to the even deadlier arena of politics and terrorism and potential warfare.
Even when that adventure is largely concluded, his keen insight and deep-seated curiosity keeps him in the middle of more and more trouble. Sometimes he finds it and sometimes it finds him.