"Primary Colors" portrays a convincing world of its own, peopled by smart cookies, nut cases, and wheeler-dealers, whose public and private lives illuminate each other--sometimes by casting dark shadows. The story paints a picture of the political state of the nation so vivid that one finds in it the deepest kind of truth, the kind of truth only fiction can tell.
A brilliant and penetrating look behind the scenes of modern American politics, Primary Colors is a funny, wise, and dramatic story with characters and events that resemble some familiar, real-life figures. When a former congressional aide becomes part of the staff of the governor of a small Southern state, he watches in horror, admiration, and amazement, as the governor mixes calculation and sincerity in his not-so-above-board campaign for the presidency.