In 1950s Washington, Hawkins Fuller is a war hero moving up the ladder at the State Department. Everything changes when Hawk meets religious Tim Laughlin: they begin an affair that puts them in jeopardy.
Hawk distances himself from Tim when the State Department begins investigations; Mary comes under suspicion; Marcus loses his job after a dispute with Roy Cohn; Hawk draws closer to Lucy.
Hawk and Tim's road trip turns sour when ulterior motives come to light; Marcus and Frankie encounter a racist bouncer; Roy tries to keep David from being drafted; Tim withholds forgiveness until an emergency changes things.
Facing a polygraph test about his sex life, Hawk courts Lucy; Marcus makes peace with his attraction to Frankie; Roy threatens to destroy the Army when David is drafted; Tim recruits Hawk to help his AIDS activist group.
Roy Cohn's obsession with David Schine leads to the televised Army-McCarthy hearings; Hawk tries to protect Sen. Smith while hiding his secret life from Lucy; Tim makes a life-changing decision.
Hawk and Lucy are settled in life with two children. Hawk wants Tim back in his life and Tim, on his way to becoming a priest, can't resist Hawk's charms. Marcus cares for his aged father while Frankie becomes a counselor for girls.
In 1979, Tim travels to Fire Island to see Hawk. In San Francisco, Marcus and Frankie get caught up in protests over the verdict in Dan White's murder trial.
In 1957, Hawk and Tim reunite at Senator McCarthy's funeral, but it ends in betrayal; in San Francisco, in 1986, Hawk seeks redemption by helping Tim while Lucy makes a decision for herself.
