Ellen Adams is the secretary of state and the protagonist of State of Terror. Through a series of personal and professional entanglements, she is forced to go to extraordinary lengths to foil a terrorist attack in her home country. Ellen’s story begins with a series of personal tragedies. By the time the novel begins, she has lost her husband, become estranged from her son, and just failed in her first major task as secretary of state. Her failed talks with Korea and then first wave of terrorist attacks mean that Ellen is in a position of professional weakness at the beginning of the story. As the head of the State Department, she feels as though she has a personal responsibility to prevent an attack on America. As a mother, her mission is complicated by her difficult relationship with her son Gil, which she is willing to sacrifice to save lives. The weak position in which Ellen begins the novel means that she is immediately forced to make sacrifices to avert further tragedy. That Ellen is willing to make personal and emotional sacrifices to save lives shows that she is a patriotic, sympathetic figure.