At the dawn of the 1960s, a 43-year-old president and his 31-year-old first lady (the youngest couple ever to occupy the White House) captivated the world with their easy elegance and their cool conviction that anything was possible. Jack and Jackie Kennedy gathered around them an intensely loyal and brillant coterie of intellectuals, journalists, diplomats, international jet-setters and artists. Perhaps as never before, Washington was sharply divided between the "ins" and the "outs."

In his public life, JFK created a New Frontier, stared down the Soviets, and devoted himself to his wife and children. As first lady, Jackie mesmerized foreign leaders and the American people with her style and sophistication. Smith brilliantly recreates the glamorous pageant of the Kennedy years, as well as the daily texture of the Kennedys' marriage, friendships, political associations, and, in Jack's case, multiple love affairs.

Smith's striking revelations include new information about what drew Jack to his numerous mistresses, and what effects the relationships ultimately had on the women; about the rivalries and resentments among Kennedy's advisers; and about the poignant days before and after Kennedy's assassination.