In 1962, Richard Nixon's once meteoric political career lay in ruins. The former vice-president had suffered two bitter losses; one in the 1960 presidential race against John F. Kennedy, the other in a bid for the governorship of his home state of California. Yet, only six years later, Nixon would be elected President of the United States. How did it happen? Why did it happen? That is the historical riddle that Nixon's the One: The '68 Election (And How It Changed America) examines. Combining elements of biography with an exploration of the larger cultural, political, and historical landscape of the Sixties, the film argues that Nixon, far from being an improbable president, was the figure who most expertly exploited the tensions of the era, harnessing them for his own ends.