Description: Sharp elbows, professional mischief, and ribald double-talk abound in this novel about the mad scrambles and the inglorious ends that enthrall our nation's capital.It is Washington in the autumn of 1987, a tranquil time in America. As the Reagan era ends -- and prospects appear bright for a Dukakis administration -- the lawyers, publicists, strategists, and lobbyists of the city are making plans for the year ahead. Among them is a cast of players whose fortunes prove to be intertwined in unexpected and not always pleasant ways.Charlie Dingleman, a former congressman, finds himself pursued by an increasingly unsavory rumor, while Judith Grust, an associate at Charlie's law firm and the source of this rumor, has a few dark secrets of her own. Hank Morriday, who feels trapped inside a think tank, keeps trying to finish a book on social policy in which he's lost interest, and Candy Romulade, a public relations executive paralyzed by her meager client list, is losing heart. Then there is Reynolds Mund, a veteran local anchorman, who has formed some very peculiar theories about the news business.On the eve of a new administration, their hilariously savage ambitions and reversals of fortune test the idea that there's no such thing as bad publicity. The result is a pitch-perfect, often poignant, novel in the classic Swiftian mold.

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