Potentates is a fictitious portrayal of the world of politics and power. The main character is Ren, a disillusioned ex-priest. After leaving the church, he finally lands a job as the office manager for the beautiful and ambitious Margaret Hall. He is politically naive, however, and ill-prepared to deal with the secretive manipulations so expertly practiced by Margaret and her right-hand man and campaign manager, Harry Jameson. As Margaret climbs the political ladder, Ren finds himself living his life on the edge. He realizes that he is being torn between a sense of moral dignity and the thrill that permeates him every time he "wheels and deals."

The plot gets even more complicated when Margaret's daughter, Tammy, gets suspended from college and her son Mark, Jr., gets arrested for murder. As if this isn't enough, Ren ends his engagement to his fiancee, Lynda, when it is revealed that she has ties to illegal activities. As Ren enters a lonely abyss, he himself, unwittingly becomes a pawn in Margaret's game. The twists and turns that accompany Margaret's quest for power and her own revelations at the end of the novel will astound readers and make them wonder just how far power maniacs will go.