The place: New York. The time: the early 1980s. The scene: the red-hot comedy clubs, very late at night. The cast: five would-be stand-ups, their gags, their egos, their girls. The result: True Story, the downright hilarious novel about trying to be funny for fame, fortune, and fornication. Only Bill Maher could've written True Story, so he did. The star of Comedy Central's Politically Incorrect and a regular guest on The Tonight Show, Bill Maher is today one of America's hottest comics. But not so long ago, when even gas stations ran comedy stages, Bill Maher was there, too; True Story is his report from the front, a stageside table at the birth of the comedy boom. You'll laugh in all the right places. Scout's honor. Swear. Hey, it's a True Story.