While the W.H. is hosting a gala dinner for Nobel Prize winners, Leo and the president learn of a suicide bomb in an Israeli cafe that took the lives of two American students in Tel Aviv for a soccer match, and the staff attempts to manage the president's first veto, of a House bill eliminating the estate tax, and the threat of an override the same night. Sam and Toby first try to sway a contentious Dem. From Tennessee who wants a whole list of farming and ranching concessions in exchange for his vote and three proxies; after a pep talk from Leo, they devise a substitute plan that may prove even more effective, if it works. Josh takes the governor of Indiana into a private meeting to determine if the man plans to challenge Bartlet in Democratic primary. C.J. takes heat from a smarmy Dallas entertainment reporter who is in town for the Nobel dinner but winds up having to cover the veto and override vote, but after the reporter embarrasses her during a live stand-up, C.J. one ups the woman in front of the press corps. Later, Sam, Toby and Josh try to help the president decide what to say to the parents of the two murdered students.

With Bartlet back in the Oval Office, and back in his wife's bad books, the hunt for a Vice President begins.

Deputy counsel Joe Quincy is quietly enlisted by Toby to approach the ailing Chief Justice about possible retirement. With Josh still incapable of lobbying effectively, Leo brings in help to hammer out the budget, but success looks a long way off with a hostile Speaker making negotiations tricky.

President Bartlet refuses to let Speaker of the House Haffley hold him hostage on the budget and allows the government to be shut down.

Leo is found in the woods and rushed to the hospital; the staff struggle to hold the peace deal together without a Chief of Staff; the President neglects his duties out of loyalty and guilt towards Leo; Donna arrives back in the USA.

Senator Arnold Vinick easily wins the Republican nomination on the night of the New Jersey primary, but has difficulty picking a running mate. Choosing Reverend Don Butler would virtually guarantee him the presidency, but their differing views on abortion and religion would make it a political union rather than one based on shared ideology. The Democratic nomination is a toss-up between Santos and Russell; Hoynes is running a distant third. With no clear nominee going into the convention, the Democratic party risks appearing unsure about both Santos and Russell - a position that President Bartlet does not want the Republicans to be able to exploit.