[2] The book tells the story of a crash of Air Force One in remote terrain and the uncertainty stemming from the lack of confirmation whether the president of the United States is alive or dead.

The President's Plane Is Missing spent multiple weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, and its success enabled Serling to become a full-time writer.

In this uncertainty, and amid a growing crisis with China that threatens to lead to war, Madigan (a weak character, pushed along by his ambitious wife) contemplates invoking Article Three of the 25th Amendment to become acting president, though he needs majority support from the cabinet to do so.

The cabinet is split on the issue and tensions increase when Madigan declares that once acting president, he will launch a pre-emptive strike on China.

He'd never been on Air Force One (and had sent a look-alike to board the plane in his place), but instead had secretly traveled to Camp David for highly-sensitive treaty negotiations with the leader of the Soviet Union to contain China.