It is August 1903, and Teddy Roosevelt's plans to build a canal through the isthmus of Panama are being thwarted. As he looks out over the White House lawn, his mind goes back to Cuba and the Spanish-American war. Inspiration strikes. Jack Quinn, a former aide from his Rough Rider days in Cuba, and now a bored New York lawyer, suddenly finds himself summoned to the White House, to be sent on a secret mission to Panama. He must help the rebels there secede from Colombia and pave the way for the United States to build the canal in the new Republic of Panama. Under orders to keep Roosevelt's involvement hidden, Quinn finds himself drawn to a beautiful Panamanian woman, who is unhappily married to the second-in-command of the Colombian army garrison in Panama. Jack Quinn, the accidental secret agent, soon finds himself fighting for his life as he tries to bring together the rebellion and keep the woman he loves. David Adamson Harper adroitly tells the story behind the history. How did Teddy pull off the steal of the century, without historians or journalists being able to prove his involvement?