Sixty Days and Counting

In his first sixty days, President Phil Chase intends to prove he can change the world. A highly topical, taut, witty and entertaining science thriller.

By the time Phil Chase is elected President of the United States, the world's climate is well on the way to irrevocable change. It could be that a mass extinction event is beginning. A lot of the big mammals – tigers, gorillas – may already be in their last moments. But now even the Pentagon agrees that climate change is a bigger threat than terrorism, Phil Chase has the trillion-dollar military budget to call on for the technologically sublime task of saving the world.

Frank Vanderwal, in the office of Presidential science advisor, finds something reassuring about the world being so messed up. It makes his own life look like part of a trend. He's been homeless for a year, the ex-husband of the love of his life did permanent injury to his nose – probably his brain – with a punch, and the love of his life has had to go into hiding from the secret service, which has Frank under surveillance, too … but meanwhile there's the world to save. Frank's a scientist. He has to save the world so that science can proceed, obviously. This has become known as the Frank Principle.

China is close to meltdown, the security agencies are in overdrive, carbon figures are close to cooking the world … and the team has sixty days to establish a new reality.