Spanish Succession

In the wake of a global crisis, a covert action team goes to work on behalf of an enemy of the United States. When a failed assassination attempt on the Russian President rocks the global stage, U.S. President Eleanor Cashman, a hardline Russia hawk, faces a brutal decision: watch a nuclear-armed Russia destabilize, or prop up a weakened Russian leader to prevent the collapse.

John Leary, a man of 55 years, leads his construction empire with an iron grip and is not alone in this endeavor. His two sons play pivotal roles in the family business, but it is his firstborn charismatic yet unpredictable Richard who basks in his father's favor in stark contrast to Brendan, Richard's half-brother who has the respect of Leary's hard-working site men because he seems to have mortar running through his veins.

The War of the Spanish Succession, fought at the beginning of the 18th century, was the last major war engaged in by French King Louis XIV, the legendary Sun King, and it was also the most famous of all military conflicts during his reign. While the length and the scope of the conflict are the primary reasons why people have given so much attention to it, another reason for its historical popularity is, no doubt, the fact that its outcome humbled the French king, to the delight of his many critics. He was, after all, the one who had given himself the lofty nickname of “the Sun King".

The War of the Spanish Succession, which occurred between 1701 and 1714, was fought over who would succeed the childless King Charles II to the throne of Spain. During the early modern era, European countries were almost constantly at war, vying for land, resources, power, and wealth. The succession of the Spanish throne - and everything that came with it - had much of all of those things up for grabs; therefore all of Europe had much to gain, or lose, from the new Spanish ruler. By the end of the war, conflict in Europe was hardly over, but a new, dominant power had emerged.