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.

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.

Eleanor moves Hick into an adjacent bedroom in the White House while Franklin has the FBI surveil her actions. Inspired by her growing influence and popularity, Betty steers a White House campaign office to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which aggravates Jerry’s staff who worry about a conservative challenge for the upcoming Republican Party presidential nomination. Michelle pushes Barack to take a firm moral stand in favor of marriage equality over his political concerns about losing re-election.

After African-American opera singer Marian Anderson is banned from performing for the Daughters of the American Revolution, Eleanor leaves the group and doubles down on her efforts to confront racism. Betty’s popularity helps Jerry secure the Republican nomination for re-election, but her growing problems with addiction threaten the family and her health. After gun violence tragedies hit both the national stage and her own childhood neighborhood, Michelle grieves with Barack and advocates for legislative action.

Dissatisfied with Franklin’s complacency over growing international atrocities in Europe, Eleanor forces his hand to assist Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Having retired to Palm Springs, Jerry plans to keep active across the country, which leaves Betty to seek out new party companions at home. Despite Barack’s political hesitations, Michelle refuses to stay quiet on racially driven violence any longer while writing her commencement address for Tuskegee University.