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The President Is Missing Characters

James Patterson

A president goes dark to hunt the traitor inside his own White House.

Who drives the story

Main characters

Jonathan Lincoln Duncan

The U.S. president and protagonist, impeached for negotiating with a terrorist while secretly racing to stop the Dark Ages virus. He gambles his presidency—and his life—on a ruse to catch the traitor in his own circle.

Appears in:
Part 1: The President on Trial
Part 2: Blood at the Ballpark
Part 3: The Countdown
Part 4: The Traitor at the Table
Themes:
The traitor within
Sacrifice and loyalty
Power, territory, and the superpower's weakness
A president under personal siege

Suliman Cindoruk

Leader of the cyberterrorist group Sons of Jihad, who deployed Dark Ages and contracted Nina's assassination and the ambushes. A weapon of Russia and Saudi money, aiming to topple American power.

Appears in:
Part 1: The President on Trial
Part 2: Blood at the Ballpark
Part 4: The Traitor at the Table
Themes:
The traitor within
Sacrifice and loyalty
A president under personal siege

Nina

A young Eastern European hacker who co-created Dark Ages with Augie, then risked everything to warn the US through a coded message to Lilly. She's silenced by an assassin's bullet at Nationals Park.

Appears in:
Part 1: The President on Trial
Part 2: Blood at the Ballpark
Part 4: The Traitor at the Table
Themes:
Sacrifice and loyalty
A president under personal siege

Augie

Nina's partner, a hacker who built Dark Ages for Cindoruk but defected to warn the Americans. He survives the attacks meant to kill him and becomes the president's indispensable guide to the virus.

Appears in:
Part 2: Blood at the Ballpark
Part 3: The Countdown
Themes:
Sacrifice and loyalty

Also in the story

Supporting characters

Lilly

Duncan's daughter, studying in Paris, who receives Nina's coded message and passes it to her father. Her one small act sets the entire rescue in motion.

Appears in:
Part 1: The President on Trial
Themes:
A president under personal siege

Carolyn Brock

Duncan's chief of staff, who 'saves the day' by guessing the Dark Ages password—then is exposed as the leaker who betrayed Dark Ages and tipped off Suliman.

Themes:
Sacrifice and loyalty

How they are connected

Key relationships

  • Suliman CindorukNina

    Leader of the cyberterrorist group Sons of Jihad, who deployed Dark Ages and contracted Nina's assassination and the ambushes.

  • NinaAugie

    A young Eastern European hacker who co-created Dark Ages with Augie, then risked everything to warn the US through a coded message to Lilly.

  • NinaLilly

    A young Eastern European hacker who co-created Dark Ages with Augie, then risked everything to warn the US through a coded message to Lilly.

  • AugieSuliman Cindoruk

    Nina's partner, a hacker who built Dark Ages for Cindoruk but defected to warn the Americans.

  • LillyJonathan Lincoln Duncan

    Duncan's daughter, studying in Paris, who receives Nina's coded message and passes it to her father.

  • Carolyn BrockJonathan Lincoln Duncan

    Duncan's chief of staff, who 'saves the day' by guessing the Dark Ages password—then is exposed as the leaker who betrayed Dark Ages and tipped off Suliman.

  • Carolyn BrockSuliman Cindoruk

    Duncan's chief of staff, who 'saves the day' by guessing the Dark Ages password—then is exposed as the leaker who betrayed Dark Ages and tipped off Suliman.

Go deeper

The President Is Missing themes & symbols

Cyber warfare as the new battlefield · The traitor within · Sacrifice and loyalty · Power, territory, and the superpower's weakness

Themes explained

Read the full The President Is Missing summary

The full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.

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