Fred Hendricks, with a creaky back and chronic heartburn, is retiring from the United States Senate staff after forty years.
But first, in a new assignment as the lead staffer for the defense appropriations subcommittee, he has to shepherd one last appropriations bill to enactment.
His hopes for a smooth process are dashed when a whistleblower whispers about an NSA scheme to rig elections.
Couple that with an upstart junior senator who challenges the bipartisan traditions of the Appropriation.