After Franklin’s sudden polio diagnosis, Eleanor Roosevelt commits to enabling his political future despite pressure from her mother-in-law, Sara. As the Watergate scandal unfolds, Betty Ford unexpectedly becomes Second Lady upon Jerry’s nomination as Vice President and she clashes with his staff over her newly public role. Following the historic 2008 election, Michelle Obama wrestles with the expectations and dangers that Barack and their children face as the first Black family to live in the White House.
Moved by the toll the Great Depression has taken on the country, Eleanor presses Franklin to act more boldly and lobbies for an unprecedented formal position in the administration while helping craft his inaugural address. After Nixon’s resignation, Jerry assumes the presidency and Betty becomes First Lady days before an important state dinner, which Jerry's staff try to cancel. In the days leading up to Barack’s inauguration, Michelle faces opposition from members of his transition team who plan to diminish her role.
Frustrated by the male dominated world of media and politics, Eleanor holds the White House’s first all-female press conference and grows closer to journalist Lorena “Hick” Hickock. Betty’s public announcement of her breast cancer diagnosis shifts opinion of the Ford Administration away from Jerry’s controversial pardon of Nixon and makes Betty a popular figure among American women. After Barack gets clobbered in the midterms, Michelle launches a new healthy school lunch program, which prompts a stalled Congress to enact new legislation.
Years before first entering the White House, Eleanor discovers Franklin’s marital indiscretions, which push her to socialize with more independent, politically active women in the salons of New York City. While Jerry rises through the ranks in Congress, a stubborn shoulder injury drives Betty to seek help from a doctor, who prescribes addictive pain medication. After toddler Sasha is rushed to the hospital with meningitis, Michelle vows to hold Chicago’s inadequate healthcare system to task by working to improve it from the inside.
Young Eleanor makes her societal debut in New York and meets her ambitious cousin, Franklin; young Betty, trapped in an abusive marriage, finds herself pursued by hotshot lawyer Jerry; young Michelle trains an idealistic summer intern named Barack.
Eleanor moves Hick into the White House while Franklin has the FBI spy on her; Betty works to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which aggravates Jerry's staff; Michelle pushes Barack to support marriage equality despite his reelection concerns.
Eleanor doubles down on her efforts to confront racism; Betty helps Jerry secure the Republican nomination for reelection while her problems with addiction worsen; Michelle grieves after gun violence tragedies and advocates for legislative action.
Eleanor forces Franklin's hand in assisting Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany; while Jerry spends his retirement on the road, Betty seeks out new party companions at home; despite Barack's hesitations, Michelle directly speaks out about race.
Eleanor rallies the country as the United States enters World War II; after Betty's addiction spirals, Jerry and her family intervene; Michelle joins Hillary Clinton on the 2016 presidential campaign trail to advocate for the dignity of women.
Eleanor receives a last gift from an ailing Franklin: the charter for the League of Nations, a blueprint for their shared lifelong dream of world peace. Betty overcomes vulnerable hurdles in rehab and, with Jerry’s support, vows to build a new clinic to help others with addiction problems. Barack and Michelle solemnly prepare to leave the White House, disappointed with the incoming administration but determined to continue making a difference in the world after leaving office.
