In the StoryThe Button
Claire Danner remembers a nuclear war. Above all, she remembers starting it. In the U.S. presidency, information passes through procedures, checks, and discussion. Claire’s memory fits none of those channels. She carries a sequence of events she cannot disclose without changing how everyone else will act.
Open the novel ↗A moment in the opening pages
It was square, ivory-colored, set beneath the edge of the desk exactly where Claire Danner’s right hand came to rest when she stopped writing. It was found in almost every room where a decision was expected of her: one press to call her private secretary, another to request the secure line, an indicator to signal that the room could be interrupted. Nothing spectacular. The first time they had shown it to her, on the day she took office, she had asked how many…Read the excerpt ↗