When a terrorist attack in Jerusalem destroys an Islamic holy site, Arab armies mass on Israel's borders and prepare to attack. The Israeli prime minister informs President Barnes that to prevent a massive human-wave attack from overrunning Israel, he has authorized the use of tactical nuclear weapons by the Israeli Defense Force.

In Saudi Arabia, an Islamist Imam overthrows the royal family and seizes power. He shuts down all of Arabia's oil production and calls for jihad-an holy war-against America and Israel. Thousands of Americans are trapped in Arabia, unable to leave. Black-clad followers of the Imam begin murdering former Saudi officials, Americans, and other foreigners trapped in Arabia.

As Americans in Arabia are shown being beheaded on television, President Barnes must develop a plan to rescue the trapped Americans and find a way to prevent the pending Arab attack on Israel from escalating into a nuclear holocaust. With a divided congress playing political games and an enraged public demanding that President Barnes ask congress for a Declaration of War, the president must find a way forward. She turns for help to the one military officer she has learned to trust, Colonel David Ballard, a Marine hero of the war in Afghanistan.

In War Powers, the latest political-military thriller from Gregory Dahl, we meet President Elizabeth Barnes. In a time of global crisis as real as the daily headlines, we discover an America president with moral courage and intelligence. Will she be strong enough as commander-in-chief to do the job? Is Elizabeth Barnes a president that all Americans can be proud of?