A Chinese student comes between a peace treaty between Japan and China. Stevie and Alison continue to clash.

Elizabeth takes advice from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and ignores President Dalton's recommendation on how to negotiate the safe return of a Sate Department employee who was kidnapped in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Henry is having trouble persuading a student to spy for the U.S. government.

With Algeria on the brink of a civil war, Elizabeth delicately negotiates a regime change, but her plans go awry when Roy Curtis, the trusted U.S. Ambassador to Algeria, dies unexpectedly. Also, Henry fights to save religious antiquities in Algeria when he discovers they are being destroyed by Hizb al-Shahid.

When a possible Israel-Iran war threatens the House’s imminent vote on the U.S. presidential election, Elizabeth attempts to bring the two reluctant countries to the negotiation table in an effort to broker a peace between them.

Elizabeth heads to Brussels to seek NATO’s support against Russia when it threatens to invade Bulgaria, but when France refuses to cooperate, it could threaten the alliance’s very existence. Also, Henry’s new government role has him dive into the Russia issue and turn to his former operative, Dmitri Petrov for help, and as Nadine and Mike B’s relationship heats up, Elizabeth finds out information about her old friend that makes her question his loyalties.

While Elizabeth is in Libya to help negotiate an end to their civil war, a tragic accident with her chauffeured car embroils her in an urgent situation to secure medical care for a gravely wounded local girl.

Secretary of State McCord struggles with the realization that she may need to advise the Afghan government that a compromise with the Taliban may be better than a war with them. Also, Henry uses Dmitri as bait to convince a Russian spy to help the U.S., and Daisy returns from maternity leave and decides to finally tell Joe’s mother about the baby.

In the aftermath of a deadly attack on the White House, Elizabeth tries to keep a major nuclear disarmament deal from falling apart while a manhunt for the attackers brings D.C. to a halt. For advice, Elizabeth turns to former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton and Colin Powell.

Elizabeth and Jay work to keep an historic agreement between Serbia and Kosovo from falling apart, after a mass grave is discovered in Serbia dating back to the Kosovo war. Also, Henry deals with a bizarre encounter with Secretary of Defense Gordon Becker.

Elizabeth must salvage a deal with a military contractor by supplying fighter jets to Taiwan, but she risks triggering a war with China in the process. Also, Daisy gets frustrated with Matt for failing to help take care of her dog like he promised.

Elizabeth must fend off a baseless investigation into her past that threatens to derail the first major legislation of her presidency. Also, First Gentleman Henry squirms after his appearance on THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT results in heightened scrutiny of the romance in the First Couple’s marriage.

President Elizabeth McCord kicks off a new landmark political initiative with help from members of the World Cup Champion U.S. Women’s Soccer team. Also, the McCords overcome last-minute obstacles to pull off a spectacular family celebration.