The Lincolns arrive in Washington with Abraham’s ability to lead in question and Mary’s sympathies suspected, and then tragedy strikes with the death of their son, Willie.

When the Lincolns arrive in Washington in 1861, the country is breaking apart. The country’s president-elect is unknown, untested and mistrusted. His wife, the daughter of a Southern slave owner, is suspected of being a Confederate sympathizer. As Abraham leads a confused and frightened people through the most terrible conflict in their history, disaster strikes his own home: Willie Lincoln — the child Mary says will be “the hope and stay” of her old age — dies.