The President, C.J. Cregg, Will Bailey, and others are returning from a long flight overseas. As Air Force One is about to land, the indicator light for the nose wheel fails to come on, prompting pilot Colonel Jessie Weiskopf to call off the landing, and notify the President of the possibility of terrorism. The White House Press Corps is on board, therefore CJ and Will must keep the story under wraps, due to it being a world market event. This becomes a challenge when a F-15 Eagle jet is sent to inspect the nose wheel on AFO. Meanwhile on the ground, Josh is working with Congressman Tom Landis (R-MD) on legislation to Clean-up Chesapeake Bay, which angers Congressional Democrats. Toby meets with Congressman Mark Richardson (D-NY) who has introduced legislation to reinstate the draft, furthermore Toby notifies the Congressman a soldier from his constituency was killed in action in Equatorial Kundu. Donna works with members of the 1st Airlift Squadron, 89th Airlift Wing to learn about "Angel Maintenance," in order to brief CJ, when she returns. Angel is the code word for the President's plane.

Trying to participate in a late-night staff poker game proves difficult as news arrives that an unmanned U.S. spy plane has crashed in a remote part of Russia, and Bartlet and Leo have to deal with an incensed Russian President Chagorin and convince him via phone to let the military go in and recover the plane; C.J. obsesses over the fact that on the exact moment of the spring equinox (today), you can stand an egg on end; Toby and Will have a card-flipping contest in the press room, during which someone from the street fires several bullets into the room; Debbie must "crash" the West Wing for the first time when the bullets fly; at the same time, Josh is interviewing associate counsel applicant Joe Quincy, and there's something about the well-qualified lawyer that bothers Josh, which he deduces during the lock down.

On his first day on the job, the new deputy counsel uncovers a trail of clues to a scandal that will end one person's career.

The assassination of Shareef threatens to become public, the president speaks at Zoe's graduation, and the unthinkable happens.

In the wake of his daughter's kidnapping, Bartlet must make a decision between being a father and being President.

In inexplicably finishing the speech early Toby is left with nothing to do. However, the State of the Union speech needs testing, so Toby flies out to meet Joey Lucas to perform mall tests.

Toby awakens at 3 a.m. with an idea of how to save the social security program for future generations, leading him to meet in secret with the president and volunteer to "touch the third rail" of American politics. Toby meets with influential Republican senator Gaines about putting aside partisanship in the interest of preserving the critical safety net, and he gets a favorable response, but someone who saw them together leaks the meeting to the press. Toby also gets Dem. senator Brainerd on board with assurances that both sides need to compromise and that the Republican agreed. Elsewhere, Josh tries to help boost the new v.p.'s profile and bland image by having him comically attack the same senator for his weak fundraising efforts. By day's end, both Gaines and Brainerd have publicly withdrawn from Toby's previously secret plan and publicly refused to consider the compromises they'd initially offered. The president angrily orders Toby to fix what he's broken, in response to which Toby submits his resignation letter to Leo. Toby finally sits down with Josh, who is livid at having been kept out of the loop on the s.s. matter, and they discuss the president's legacy and the greater issue of making a lasting impact for the American people, after which Josh recommends turning to Dem. senator Turner to reignite the agreement, leading to a bipartisan negotiation and the White House's realization that the good of the people has to trump any presidential legacy.

A nuclear device is tested in the Indian Ocean, but none of the known nuclear powers will claim responsibility, leading to the possibility of a terrorist group holding missile tests. Vice President Russell, heretofore dismissed by west wing staff as a joke, a four-term congressman alleged to be securely in the pocket of a large Colorado mining company, recalls a junket he'd taken early in his political career in which a drunken Israeli statesman confessed to secret missile tests. Russell visits the sit. room and puts the military and national security leaders at ease, leading the president and Leo to reassess the man's political gravitas. Bartlet then drags the Israeli p.m. to the White House, where they debate the power of the U.S. to dictate which states should have nuclear capabilities.

A Navy Hawkeye AWACS crew is missing in North Korea, a Broadcaster has called CJ a chicken and a proposed tax break for stay at home moms causes Josh stress. Amidst the usual West Wing mêlée, Leo finds himself hearing things about the man who saved his life in Vietnam, that he doesn't believe.

Press leaks lead to the revelation that former VP John Hoynes is about to release a tell-all book about the administration.

Josh and Santos visit New Hampshire to launch the presidential campaign. Josh has experience running national campaigns and has a clear idea about what candidates should and shouldn't do to get elected, but Santos's approach differs dramatically: he believes in talking about big ideas rather than saying whatever he needs to do in order to win votes. This difference in opinion combined with conventional wisdom that says Santos has no chance of winning threaten to sink the campaign before it's begun. Will and Donna are also in New Hampshire, running Vice President Bob Russell's campaign - which puts their interests at odds with those of the Santos campaign.

Leo returns to the White House to help bolster the administration, which is suffering from the loss of Josh, Donna, Will, and the Vice President to the next election campaign. Leo's first day back follows President Bartlet's last State of the Union address, and unlike in previous years there appears to be little momentum on bold, large-scale initiatives. Amidst numerous distractions that dilute the focus of the staff (kidnappings in Colombia, the First Lady's appearance at a NASCAR race, and petulant Congressmen), he challenges the administration on their agenda for their remaining year in office.

A day in the lives of presidential candidates Bob Russell, Matt Santos, and Arnold Vinick, who are in Iowa trying to gain support for their campaigns. Iowa is the first state in the nation to hold their presidential caucuses, and issues affecting farmers and rural areas are the focus. The most important issue on the table is the large federal subsidies for ethanol fuel given to corn growers, which is supported by Iowa residents but seen as naked pandering by the rest of the country. Josh continues to clash with Santos over winning votes instead of proposing radical policy. Donna and Josh continue to avoid speaking about the state of their relationship.

CJ and Abbey go twelve rounds on how to handle President Bartlett and his disease. Lord Marbury makes his return to the White House after a British commercial plane gets shot down by Iran. Toby splits his time between helping write a Belarus constitution and the yearly meeting with Miss World

Five days before the New Hampshire Democratic primary, the Santos campaign risks extinction as Matt has not been invited to the last debate. Josh proposes a number of strategies to get Santos into the debate, including deal-making, legal challenges, attack ads, and publicity stunts - but the Congressman is reluctant to play along. With Josh scrambling to keep the campaign alive, Santos calls in help from Washington to tune his message. Hoynes and Russell launch attack ads on each other's records, and Josh realizes that a desperate long-shot is needed to keep Santos in the race.

The Vinick campaign struggles with the impact of the nuclear accident in California; Josh and Donna have a "moment".

Both candidates face vital choices about which states to campaign in; Vinick tries to put the nuclear issue behind him; Bruno finds Santos's briefcase.

A federal prosecutor's threat to indict Toby on another charge has the potential to affect the impending election.

Election day finally arrives; C.J. ponders job offers; the election looks too close to call.

Polls are closing across the country, and the race is too close to call; friends and colleagues react to the news about Leo.