Six months after 9/11, an American Coast Guard cutter explodes mysteriously off the coast of Cuba. People immediately accuse Fidel Castro of terrorism. Cuban exiles in Miami, conservative super patriots in Washington and vested interests across the country start beating the war drums for punishment and revenge. War hysteria quickly possesses average citizens and policy makers alike. Thousands of U.S. servicemen prepare to risk death in a massive invasion of Cuba to defend American national security and honor. A century after a similar incident also triggered war over Cuba, history appears on the verge of repeating itself with perverse symmetry. Then Alina Rubio, a Cuban-American reporter for a Miami newspaper, uncovers a grotesque scheme of greed and corruption that endangers the lives of thousands and the future of a nation. The experience puts Rubio through a trial by fire that challenges her professional ethics and personal loyalties. Also tested on issues of loyalty to country and principles are an election-bound United States president, media executives and other power brokers in government and business. Conflicting Loyalties unreels a tale of grand-scale intrigue and power lust in a political thriller as gripping as tomorrow's headlines.