In 1969, Senator Edward Kennedy is caught by his wife attempting to leave a party with attractive young Mary Jo Kopechne. The resulting divorce causes havoc with Kennedy's political career, as details of his womanizing and drinking become public. Kennedy pledges his constituents that he will reform, and after a brief period in a rehabilitation clinic, he comes out sober and focused. After winning the presidency in 1976, he entered his second marriage - also the second marriage of a President in the White House - to Victoria Reggie in 1977.