After an Italian warship answers a distress call from a ship carrying Libyan refugees, Elizabeth is given 20 minutes to decide whether to question a passenger who claims to know the whereabouts of Jibral Disah, the most-wanted terrorist in the world. Also, Stevie brings her boyfriend Jareth home to meet her parents.

Elizabeth learns that a member of the inner circle of the terrorist group Boko Haram has fallen ill with a deadly virus and, by leveraging his weakness, she formulates a plan to get them to release a group of schoolgirls they are holding captive. Also, Henry gets new information on the whereabouts of Jibral Disah that leads them closer to pinpointing his location.

When Elizabeth receives shocking news about an important political operative, she navigates a tricky political situation with President Dalton, who she learns may be considering replacing her as Secretary of State. Also, Stevie and Jareth get engaged.

After a bombing at a political rally in Angola, Elizabeth must find a way to respond to a “dissent memo” from the Bureau of African Affairs when they criticize the Dalton Administration’s lack of attention to the upcoming Angolan election.

When the Mongolian government sends Elizabeth a horse as a gift, she thinks accepting it could upset other Asian countries, but she stirs up more controversy when she considers returning it to Mongolia. Also, Gov. Sam Evans threatens to sue Ohio for putting President Dalton on the election ballot, and Stevie has an interesting first day as Russell’s new intern.

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.

As the government shutdown shows no sign of progress, Secretary of State McCord must negotiate an agreement between the White House and its opposition led by Senator Morejon. Also, Elizabeth is having trouble finding a suitable replacement for the chief of staff position.