Bartlet, Leo, Sam, Toby, and C.J. travel to New York City for a Catholic fund raiser at a long Broadway play called "The War of the Roses". Josh steps up his efforts to beat his girlfriend, Amy, in their struggle over the welfare reform bill, which leads to her forced resignation. C.J. and Secret Service agent Simon Donavon have grown closer, but a tragic event cuts short their relationship. At the play, Bartlet comes face to face with Republican Presidential candidate Rob Ritchie and faces the decision of whether or not to assassinate the Qumari Defense Minister.

Donna teaches Toby and Josh an important lesson as their trek homeward continues; Sam staffs the President in Josh's absence and welcomes an old friend home; Bartlet hires a secretary and C.J. finds a Big Brother for Anthony; the situation in Qumar continues to escalate; Bartlet gets spooked by a photo op as the Dow continues its dive; and a pipe bomb kills 44 students at a Midwest university swim meet.

Josh and Toby have a plan to make college cheaper. Leo starts talking to a lawyer about the Shareef assassination. A judicial ruling on third-party candidates has troubling implications for the campaign.

As results come in across the country, Sam is focused on a single congressional election that will determine his own future. After realizing she accidentally voted for the Republican nominee, Donna tries to find a Ritchie supporter who will "swap votes" with her. The President tries to hide a recurrence of his M.S.

A 15 year old boy needs a heart and lung transplant. He also happens to be the son of the Iranian Ayatollah who is not a supporter of the Bartlet Administration.

The president, first lady and w.w. staff travel to Orange County, Calif., to campaign for Sam's bid to win the 47th District congressional seat -- the Nov. winner in the heavily Republican district was, amazingly, a liberal Democrat who, more amazingly, had died a few weeks prior. The president orders Toby to fire Sam's campaign manager, a staunch realist, and take over the campaign with a more idealistic approach. Some conservative voters approach Andrea Wyatt in a bar and give her grief about her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, and Toby and Charlie step in forcefully, landing them in jail. Donna talks, on behalf of Sam's campaign, with a state labor leader who turns out to be a Communist.

Military action in Africa has unforeseen repercussions. Sam and Toby work together on the Orange County Campaign. Will has to find his leadership skills quickly as he is left with no one but interns to prepare remarks on the dry subjects of Taxes.

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.

Seven hours have passed since Zoey's kidnapping and and the Republicans are in charge of the White House. Rifts are appearing in the leadership of both parties further complicated by the arrival of a ransom note demanding the release of terrorists.

Zoey Barlet has been held for over a day. An international crisis looms that could have serious repercussions for the administration, let alone the hostage.

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

The entire Bartlet family tries to gather for an early Christmas dinner at the White House, but inevitable delays occur as the president must deal with an overseas crisis. Ellie is held up at her lab, and five-year-old grandson Gus is having tantrums. In addition, Doug Westin (Jed and Abby's son-in-law) approaches Josh about running for an open congressional seat in his home district. Josh, Leo and the New Hampshire Democratic Party have already chosen a viable local candidate, but Doug persists. Jed, who likes and respects Doug, still thinks it's should be Liz who should run for the open seat.

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.

A Republican Congresswoman targets Ellie in an attempt to discredit the President; C.J. urges Abby to appear on Sesame Street; Josh works to keep a judicial nominee from withdrawing.

A Supreme Court Justice dies, forcing the administration's hand on picking a desirable replacement who can be confirmed by a hostile Congress.

The president and staff are about to head for Brussels to sign an international free trade deal that Josh has just spent a lot of time and effort negotiating, to nearly everyone's satisfaction; at the 11th hour, the CEO of an IBM-like company tells Josh that the first effect of the new agreement, of which his company is a huge beneficiary, will be the immediate transfer of 17,000 programming jobs to India; the head of the communications workers' union, which is representing the affected programmers, brings one of the programmers to Josh's office, and they refuse to leave, leading Josh to question the underlying adverse effects of the trade deal. Throughout the episode, Ryan tries to make Josh care that he's completing his internship that day, while Donna pesters Josh to bring her on the Brussels trip in an effort to make her a more active player in west wing activities, eventually leading to a trade-off that will mean even bigger things for Donna in the long run.

When a bio-hazard alarm goes off in the White House, the staff are locked down where they are - forcing them to have conversations they would have otherwise avoided.

The President finds himself at odds with Leo, and the entire country, on his position regarding retaliation for the bombing in Gaza.

Josh maintains a vigil beside Donna's bed in hospital, and needles Colin over his background and relationship with Donna. President Bartlet is determined to reject the unanimous demands of Congress, the American public, and his entire staff to retaliate for the roadside bombing. Leo tries to find a way to talk the President around while Kate tries various long-shot attempts at getting the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate at Camp David.

Josh returns from Germany in time to voice concerns about Leo; the Israelis and Palenstinians meet at Camp David with little chance of an agreement; the President and Leo's differences over the Middle East crisis reach a breaking point.

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.

C.J.'s first day as Chief of Staff gives her a new appreciation for Leo's skill in the role. While struggling to keep up with her hectic schedule, she must handle the sudden appearance of abandoned Soviet nuclear material, counter political maneuvering within the Cabinet, and assert her authority with the staff and the President. Toby conducts a press briefing after which C.J. orders him to quickly find someone to fill the role permanently. The Democratic Party enlists Josh's help to talk Congressman Matt Santos out of taking an early retirement.

The glow of the Middle East peace deal begins to fade once the hard reality of implementing change begins. Josh becomes involved in the Patient's Bill of Rights, which is becoming a political football as the Vice President and Congressman Santos both try to out-maneuver each other and the Republicans. C.J. continues to be unimpressed with Toby's performance as press secretary when he gets into a difficult position during a briefing. While working to recover from his heart attack, Leo receives a job offer from the corporate world.

After spending months negotiating a difficult summit with China, Josh is dismayed to learn that the President accepted a flag symbolizing Taiwanese independence. Vice President Hoynes appears on television to promote his book and indicates a desire to return to politics. With the Iowa caucuses only a few months away, Vice President Russell and others begin positioning themselves to win the Democratic presidential nomination. President Bartlet finds tying his bow tie unexpectedly difficult.

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.

Back in Washington briefly, Josh visits the White House and is surprised to discover that as a campaign manager he is no longer part of the inner circle in an administration that wants to remain neutral in the Democratic primary. Toby is the focus of some concern after being more withdrawn than usual and also because he is nursing a cut on his face that he doesn't want to talk about. Charlie tells Kate that a guy at his gym has been asking about her, but she's unsure if she's ready to date again. A multi-state water rights fight pitches C.J. against lobbyist Cliff Calley, who proves to be both infuriating and intriguing. Josh and Donna are both suspicious when far-left Senator Rafferty joins the race, obviously as a spoiler candidate.

Rumors circulate in Washington yet again about the state of Fidel Castro's health. As C.J. begins to look into the issue she uncovers some dark secrets regarding the United States' relationship with Cuba which appear to involve Leo, the President, and Kate Harper. Despite how closely guarded and potentially explosive this information is, a startlingly large number of government agencies and officials appear to know bits and pieces of the story. This results in undercover political maneuvering to avoid what is expected to be an enormous political disaster. Meanwhile, Charlie calls in different professionals to deal with a suspected termite problem in the White House.

WHO WILL BE THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE? - It's the Democratic National Convention and the race to become the Democratic Presidential candidate has narrowed to three candidates: Russell, Baker and Santos. Also, Bartlet must wrestle with the decision to launch the super-secret defense shuttle to rescue the astronauts trapped at the space station and risk national security or let them die.

The Santos campaign faces questions on intelligent design and evolution during a campaign stop focusing on education in Pennsylvania. Margaret testifies before the committee investigating the leak, which has also served most current and former members of the Bartlet administration with subpoenas. A suicide bombing in the Middle East throws the region into chaos and threatens to postpone all campaigning. An intelligence analyst assigned to brief the Vinick campaign demands to speak with CJ.

President Bartlet's plan to attend his daughter Ellie's White House wedding is jeopardized when Russia and China mobilize troops over growing chaos in Kazakhstan. The Santos campaign has gained ground on Vinick over the last few weeks, but with less than two months until the election it's not clear that the gap can be closed. As Josh obsesses over the electoral math, tracking polls, and decisions on where to spend advertising money, some Democrats are nervous that the election is slipping away, and urge Santos to fire Josh as campaign manager.

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

President Bartlet and his current and former staffers come together for Leo's funeral.

Eyebrows are raised when the President-elect places a call to the president of China and offers a different position than that of Bartlet. Meanwhile, Josh picks his deputy chief of staff.

Santos and his staff prepare for the inauguration as Bartlet and his team look back on their years in the White House.

When a bio-hazard alarm goes off in the White House, the staff are locked down where they are - forcing them to have conversations they would have otherwise avoided.

A Supreme Court Justice dies, forcing the administration's hand on picking a desirable replacement who can be confirmed by a hostile Congress.

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.

Josh and Toby have a plan to make college cheaper. Leo starts talking to a lawyer about the Shareef assassination. A judicial ruling on third-party candidates has troubling implications for the campaign.