George Shultz’ early life, his early cabinet posts and his diplomatic challenges as he’s sworn in as secretary of state.

The first episode introduces George Shultz through the details of his early life: his service as a U.S. Marine, his academic career as a free-market economist at MIT and as dean of the business school at the University of Chicago and his early cabinet posts as secretary of labor and secretary of the treasury under President Nixon. As he's sworn in as secretary of state under President Reagan, the war in Lebanon presents a dangerous diplomatic challenge. A second crisis boils over when it's discovered that the CIA is secretly aiding Nicaraguan Contra rebels. Through it all, Shultz clings to one goal: to bring Ronald Reagan and the Soviet leaders together for the first time.