This first episode follows Bill Clinton's bumpy road to the 1992 presidential victory. From the political backwaters of Arkansas, Bill Clinton rises to Yale, where he meets a young woman named Hillary Rodham, who shares his intellect and idealism and becomes his wife. During a campaign repeatedly under siege by allegations ranging from draft dodging to womanizing, the Clintons unite and appear on 60 Minutes to rebuff the charges. Having emerged as a political force, the Clintons win the election. But despite all of their education and experience, the pair are unprepared for political life in Washington, and the tragic suicide of their close friend and ally, deputy White House counsel Vince Foster, underlines the new harsh reality they have to face up to.
The Whitewater scandal threatens to derail Clinton's first budget and trouble is brewing in the remote countries of Rwanda, Somalia and Bosnia. The Republicans, led by the formidable Newt Gingrich, gain control of Congress in the midterm elections, shifting the political landscape to the right. Clinton, seemingly bereft of power, begins to sideline his most trusted advisors in favour of an aggressive political consultant named Dick Morris. The Republican 'Contract with America' is riding high and by spring of 1995, Gingrich and his allies choose the budget as the ground on which to wage their war. The Republican plan leads to a government shutdown and slowly the tide begins to turn in Clinton's favour.
Winning the 1996 election in a landslide, Clinton pulls off one of the greatest turnarounds in political history and alongside him, Hillary succeeds in passing crucial legislation. Times are good, the economy is booming, and American prestige and power internationally are at an all-time high. The president's dream of repairing the breach with Republicans seems within reach and the Clintons seem stronger than ever. But then Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky - a White House intern - becomes public after she confides in a co-worker named Linda Tripp. The ensuing scandal gives Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr the ammunition he needs to recharge his stalled investigation of the Whitewater affair and Hillary her highest approval rating yet.
