. >> who is fred larue in your novel? >> fred, unless you're a real watergate buff you're unlikely to know. fred larue was a man from mississippi, a republican operative. worked in the nixon white house. not a business card. no salary. did a let of work for attorney general john mitchell t fell to him during the watergate scandal to be the man to coordinate payments to the burglars, hush-money. >> this is historical fact? >> this is historical fact. larue was a soft-spoken, intriguing man. he had a tragedy in his life when he was young. when he was in his late '20s he accidentally killed his father when they were out hunting and he was an increasing figure. and i remember thinking, he had the kind of personality i wanted to think about and explore. so he becomes a main player in the novel even though he was a relatively minor one in the scandal himself. >> is' protagonist in your novel? >> i'm not sure there is a protagonist. the book comes from seven different points of view. some big people. some of them lesser figures.