The President's Daughter: A Thriller

Keating arrives at a suite in the Saunders Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, accompanied by Secret Service Agent David Stahl. The suite is being converted into a command center by agents and technicians. Keating’s former chief of staff, Madeline Perry, arrives and takes charge, ushering Keating and Stahl into a bathroom for a private discussion.

Agent Stahl updates them: The FBI is at the crime scene, a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) alert has been issued for a black Cadillac Escalade, and northern border crossings are being sealed. He confirms that Keating’s wife, Samantha, is on a flight back. Just as Samantha arrives and embraces her husband, CNN breaks the news of Mel’s kidnapping.

Officer Corinne Bradford of the Monmouth Police Department, a former Massachusetts State Police officer frustrated with her small-town assignment, is called into the office of her boss, Chief Randy Grambler. He assigns her to what he considers a minor case: a reported theft from a resident named Yvonne Clarkson.

At Clarkson’s home, Corinne learns that the stolen item was a copy of USA Today, taken from the driveway. Clarkson reports seeing two men take the newspaper and drive away in a new, black Cadillac Escalade. Corinne recognizes that the vehicle description matches the BOLO alert for the kidnapping suspects and realizes that she has a critical lead.

Keating and his wife Samantha meet with President Barnes in the Oval Office. President Barnes assures them that all federal resources will be dedicated to finding their daughter. FBI Director Lisa Blair provides a briefing, while Homeland Security Secretary Paul Charles confirms that the borders are being secured.

At Matthew’s insistence, President Barnes agrees to involve the NSA in the search. The meeting is interrupted by Deputy Chief of Staff Felicia Taft, who enters with urgent news: The news network Al Jazeera has received a ransom demand for Mel and will broadcast it live in one minute.

The group in the Oval Office watches the Al Jazeera broadcast. The video features a man who identifies himself as Asim Al-Asheed, a known terrorist. He explains that his family was killed during a military operation Keating authorized as president and shows photographs of his deceased wife and daughters. Asim plays a short clip of Mel, who is shown alive and holding that day’s edition of USA Today.

Asim then states his demands: the release of three prisoners, a payment of $100 million in bitcoin, and a presidential pardon for himself. As the video concludes, Keating declares that by revealing his identity, Al-Asheed has made a critical mistake.

Keating explains that Al-Asheed’s self-identification gives intelligence agencies a starting point to trace his movements, a process FBI Director Blair calls “walking back the cat.” Keating then reveals that he received a warning about a threat against him in that morning’s President’s Daily Brief.

As the officials discuss strategy, Samantha interrupts, arguing that they are misinterpreting the situation. She states that Al-Asheed’s demands are not transactional but personal, intended to make Keating feel powerless. She believes they should be wary of both the terrorist and their own government’s response.

Less than half an hour after the ransom video airs, Officer Corinne Bradford finds Chief Grambler at a diner. She explains the connection between Yvonne Clarkson’s stolen newspaper and the Escalade, but Grambler dismisses the kidnapping as “fake news.” He forbids Corinne from contacting federal authorities and orders her to run speed traps.

Defying her chief, Corinne goes to a nearby bank. The manager helps her review the exterior CCTV footage, where Corinne spots the black Cadillac Escalade. She obtains a screenshot of the vehicle, securing the first piece of evidence of the kidnappers’ movements.

In New York City, Chinese intelligence agent Jiang Lijun blackmails an American professor of criminal justice and former deputy police commissioner into becoming an asset. He then meets with his superior, Li Baodong, who informs him that Al-Asheed—a former asset Jiang controlled in Libya—has kidnapped Mel Keating. Li orders Jiang to contact Al-Asheed and arrange for Mel’s release in order to score a diplomatic victory for China.

Although Jiang agrees, he privately resolves to disobey. Jiang harbors a vendetta against the United States because his father was killed in the American bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. He decides to secretly aid Al-Asheed’s plot to humiliate the US government.

After leaving the White House, Samantha breaks down in private with Keating, whispering that Mel’s kidnapping is her fault. A flashback reveals that years earlier, her former student had given her a thumb drive containing a compromising video of Richard Barnes. Samantha chose not to release the information, a decision she now believes cost Keating the presidency.

In the present, Samantha is convinced that if Keating had won reelection, Mel would still have been protected by the Secret Service and would not have been abducted.

Held in a concrete cell, Mel remembers Agent Stahl’s advice to attempt an escape early. After hiding a cup, she creates a mixture of toilet water and urine. When her younger captor, Faraj, enters with food, Mel feigns distress and throws the liquid in his face. She kicks him, grabs his pistol, aims, and pulls the trigger.

The gun is unloaded. As Mel struggles to clear it, Al-Asheed appears. He reveals the empty gun was a test, designed to give her a moment of hope before crushing it.

Al-Asheed grabs Mel, chokes her, and lectures her on the futility of escape. He claims her kidnapping is an act of war, quoting former US President John Quincy Adams to justify his actions. He compares his methods to American drone strikes. As punishment, he forces her to eat her spilled meal from the floor.

When Mel asks if he intends to release her, Asim tells her she will soon understand what “forever” means, implying he has no intention of letting her go.

Feeling powerless at the hotel, Keating activates his network of international contacts. He fails to reach Sarah Palumbo at the National Security Council but successfully connects with Major General Ahmad Bin Nayef of Saudi Arabia, who pledges to help on a father-to-father basis.

Ahmad warns Keating that official intelligence cooperation on the case is being delayed, finding it suspicious that American agencies are not pushing harder for Saudi assistance. This deepens Keating’s concern that the Barnes administration is not fully committed to the rescue.

Jiang Lijun arranges a clandestine meeting with a disguised Al-Asheed at a remote pond in New Hampshire. Jiang first delivers his government’s offer to help secure Mel’s release, which Al-Asheed rejects. Jiang then makes his secret offer: He will provide funds, weapons, and intelligence to help Al-Asheed’s plot succeed. Al-Asheed tells him he will consider it.

While driving away, Jiang is stopped at a police roadblock. An officer shows him photographs of Al-Asheed and Faraj. Choosing his personal mission of revenge over his country’s interests, Jiang lies, claiming he has not seen the men, and is waved through.

With the ransom deadline hours away, Keating asks Agent Stahl to find out if the Treasury Department is preparing the bitcoin payment. After another failed attempt to contact Sarah Palumbo, Matthew calls Danny Cohen, the retired director of Mossad, who promises unofficial assistance.

Shortly thereafter, Agent Stahl confirms that the Treasury Department is making no arrangements to pay the ransom. Overhearing this, Samantha realizes the Barnes administration has no intention of meeting the demands. Keating agrees and resolves to get Mel back himself, whatever it takes.

Following a tip from a hardware store, Officer Corinne Bradford conducts surveillance on a remote house in Monmouth. She observes a black pickup truck arrive and sees the kidnappers’ black Cadillac Escalade parked in the garage. She gets a clear view of one of the men and identifies him as Al-Asheed.

Corinne struggles to find a cell signal but eventually calls Clark Yates of the New Hampshire State Police, providing him with the location of the hideout. Just as she ends the call, she turns and sees Al-Asheed advancing toward her with a knife.