U.S. energy giant Connex Oil is losing control of key oil fields in a Persian Gulf kingdom ruled by the al-Subaai family. The emirate's foreign minister, Prince Nasir, has granted natural gas drilling rights to a People's Republic of China company, greatly upsetting the U.S. oil industry and the U.S. government. To compensate for its decreased production capacity, Connex initiates a shady merger with Killen, a smaller oil company that recently won the drilling rights to key petroleum fields in Kazakhstan. Connex-Killen ranks as the world's twenty-third largest economy, and antitrust regulators at the United States Department of Justice have concerns. A Washington, D.C.-based law firm headed by Dean Whiting is hired to smooth the way for the merger. Bennett Holiday is assigned to promote the impression of due diligence to the DOJ, deflecting any allegations of corruption.