Nancy Davis Reagan has led an extraordinary life; it has also been an extraordinarily private one. Now Mike Deaver, whose relationship with Mrs. Reagan dates back to the 1960s, shares the side of Nancy that only her intimates know.

The woman portrayed in Nancy is far more complicated than the stereotype. No cardboard cutout, she is pure flesh and blood, a woman of immense will and fortitude. And in the Reagans' fifty-year marriage, Ron always received top billing. She is convinced that her husband was one of the great men of the twentieth century: a rare world leader who changed the tide of history. Nancy has been no bit player in the story. Deaver believes that Reagan would not have risen to such distinction without Nancy at his side.

Reluctantly drawn into politics, Nancy gradually embraced her role. To the president, Nancy Reagan would bring discipline. She would ask the tough questions. When his image might be tainted, she would fervently guard it, even at the expense of her own.

To Ronald Reagan the man, who always had trouble expressing intimacy, Nancy gave the gift of her unrestricted love. Now to a man no longer capable of looking after himself, Nancy is everything there is left to be: caretaker, guardian, nurturer of the Reagan legacy.