A Multigenerational Family Story

On Day 1 -- November 7, 2000 -- the United States held its fifty-fourth quadrennial presidential election.

On Day 37 -- December 13, 2000 -- Texas Governor Jack Markham, Jr. was declared the winner of that election, and would become the forty-third President of the United States.

Before Day 1, the Flannery family becomes the "First Family of American Politics," according to Inside America magazine. Eugene Flannery runs for president nine times, once from a prison cell. In doing so, he becomes a hero to a small legion of supporters around the world, and makes a few very powerful friends -- including Secretary of State Jack Markham, whose son will be elected president on Day 37.

Behind the scenes, the elder Markham's influence will loom large in ways that only he and Eugene know. After Sean drops his weapon and deserts the front lines in the Vietnam War, Secretary Markham makes sure that he is not prosecuted for his actions.

Stateside, Sean's infant twins are reared to be the future of the Party. His daughter, Meghan, shows a talent for politics and persuasion, but wants little to do with the family business. His son, Dennis, owns a phenomenal mind, but no affinity for the gladhanding needed in a political career. Dennis follows the family's wishes and works for the Party as a data guru. But Meg goes astray -- and far astray. While her family toils on the campaign in Florida in the days leading up to Day 1, she scurries around New Jersey, commiting a series of cons and larcenies under a series of fake names. When she feels the heat -- namely, in the pursuit of two scorned coworkers (and aspiring love interests) named Barney and Greg -- she returns, unannounced, to Florida and attempts to resume her previous life.

For a few months, it was all going so well. Then Meg hooks up with James Birch, the husband of Florida Secretary of State Sabra Birch, who happens to oversee the state's elections. This includes the state's voter database, a treasure trove of potential identities for Meghan to assume. When she cannot resist, her actions began a cascade of unintended consequences heard around the world.

After Day 37, Dennis sits in prison, blamed for crimes pinned on him by the authorities and his sister. Meghan leaves a life of solitude as the now-infamous "Red Lady." And the members of the Flannery family look back and wonder where it all went wrong.

In the 37 days in between, the family works on their Party's campaign in Florida. And all hell breaks loose.

In 37 Days, a family's complicated web of tales, spanning generations, comes together to result in a ruinous demise for its youngest generation, and almost brings American democracy to its knees.