Preserve and Protect is a 1968 political novel

Political fiction

Political fiction is a subgenre of fiction that deals with political affairs. Political fiction has often used narrative to provide commentary on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction often "directly criticize an existing society or.....

 written by Allen Drury

Allen Drury

Allen Stuart Drury was a U.S. novelist. He wrote the 1959 novel Advise and Consent, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1960.- Early life & ancestry :...

. It is the third sequel

Sequel

A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

 to Advise and Consent

Advise and Consent

Advise and Consent is a 1959 political novel by Allen Drury that explores the United States Senate confirmation of controversial Secretary of State nominee Robert Leffingwell who is a former member of the Communist Party...

, for which Drury was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...

 in 1960, and is followed by two alternate sequels of its own, Come Nineveh, Come Tyre (1973) and The Promise of Joy (1975).

Plot

After winning his party's nomination in Capable of Honor

Capable of Honor

Capable of Honor is a 1966 political novel written by Allen Drury. It is the second sequel to Advise and Consent, for which Drury was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1960....

, newly-elected U.S. President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Harley Hudson dies in a suspicious plane crash. William Abbott, the Speaker of the House

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...

, is reluctantly elevated to the Presidency. The Majority Party immediately convenes its National Committee, torn between the supporters of California Governor Ted Jason and those of Secretary of State

United States Secretary of State

The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...

 and former Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Orrin Knox.

Eventually Knox defeats Jason, but names Jason as his vice presidential

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

 nominee. At the conclusion of the novel, a gunman appears and opens fire on the two candidates and their wives.

Sequels

The cliffhanger

Cliffhanger

A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...

ending of Preserve and Protect allowed Drury to offer two concurrent and conflicting sequels: one in which Knox dies and Jason goes on to become president, and the other with the opposite result.

Come Nineveh, Come Tyre

1973's Come Nineveh, Come Tyre finds Presidential candidate Orrin Knox and Vice Presidential nominee Ted Jason's wife Ceil as the victims, and Jason is elected to the presidency. The Russians and Chinese immediately take advantage of the weak Jason, and are able to achieve dominance over the United States by the end.

The Promise of Joy

In 1975's The Promise of Joy, Vice Presidential nominee Ted Jason and Beth Knox are the two killed, and Orrin Knox is elected as President.
Deterred by Knox's inflexible will, the Russians and Chinese begin a war with each other. Knox advises the nation that the United States will intervene in the Sino-Soviet conflict, but does not specify how or on which side, and the situation does not resolve itself before the end of the novel.