Now Private Secretary to President McKinley, Cortelyou proves indispensable during the Spanish-American War. But his resolve is truly tested when McKinley is shot by an assassin at the World’s Fair in Buffalo, NY. As the country reels, Cortelyou holds the government - and the grieving First Lady - together.

With Roosevelt’s sudden rise to the presidency, Cortelyou becomes the stabilizing force behind the most energetic administration in history. From modernizing the White House to managing the southern backlash after the president dines with Black leader Booker T. Washington.

Roosevelt takes on JP Morgan and America’s most powerful monopoly in the Supreme Court. Cortelyou is tapped to build a new arm of government from scratch - to regulate big business. Meanwhile, President Roosevelt spends several days camping in the wild with famed conservationist John Muir.