Nick Naylor

Nick Naylor is the central character of the novel, and the story follows him the entire time. He is the chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, a pro-tobacco lobby in Washington DC. He was a local newscaster in DC until he accidentally announced the death of the President on air, precipitating a plunge in the stock market. He regularly has lunch with the MOD Squad (MOD means "Merchants of Death"), an informal coterie consisting of him, Bobby Jay Bliss, firearms spokesman, and Polly Bailey, beer, wine, and spirits spokeswoman.

At the beginning of the novel, Nick is spared firing by his new boss, BR, by a successful appearance on Oprah that grabs the attention of the Captain, the elderly president of Agglomerated Tobacco. Nick's salary is doubled, and he finds himself giving more interviews, in the process starting an affair with a young newspaper reporter...