A drug dealer's appeal of the federal death penalty is rejected by the Supreme Court, which upholds the death sentence with execution scheduled for the following Monday. One of the defense lawyers on the case is Sam's old high school bully, and he appeals directly to Sam to involve the president. During a weekend in which he was supposed to be in a yacht race, Sam opts to stay at the W.H. and try to convince his fellow staffers and ultimately Bartlet that the president should commute the sentence. Meanwhile Josh, after a night of heavy drinking at a bachelor party, meets congressional campaign manager Joey Lucas while is hung over. She assails him for having the DNC cut off funding for her candidate, but the decision was deliberate, as the W.H. likes the conservative nutjob currently holding the Calif. seat. Opinions on the death penalty are exchanged throughout the weekend, including those of Quaker Joey Lucas and Toby's rabbi, and Bartlet winds up calling both the Pope and his old parish priest from N.H. for counsel.

On a typical night in the west wing, Sam returns from a hockey game and Josh asks him to meet with V.P. Hoynes about saving an education bill. Back at the W.H., Josh, Toby, Leo, C.J., Larry and Ed all meet about the prospect of replacing Hoynes on the ticket in the next campaign. Bartlet helps Charlie do his federal taxes, and while both think Charlie should expect a refund, thanks to last year's so-called economic stimulus, he instead owes money to the IRS. A security emergency occurs when two trucks, one stolen and containing nuclear waste, crash in a tunnel in Idaho, threatening to explode and wipe out a nearby town. Donna asks Josh to ask the president for a special proclamation recognizing her favorite h.s. teacher. Bartlet can't oblige, but he comes up with a very uplifting consolation for Donna to let her teacher know how much she appreciated her. Episode title refers to James Bond's preference for "shaken, not stirred," which Bartlet insists results in a weak martini; this ties into Hoynes and Leo making the president aware that Hoynes is a recovering alcoholic, just as the w.w. staff is considering bumping him.