After he’s denied the job of secretary of state by the newly elected president, Congressman Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) plots his revenge, aided by his loyalists on Capitol Hill and a brash young newspaper reporter who will stop at nothing to promote her own career.

As the damaging leak of a draft education bill makes him indispensable to the Walker administration, Francis (Kevin Spacey) enlists Zoe (Kate Mara) in a scheme to undermine the president’s nominee for secretary of state.

As a tragedy in his home district forces Francis (Kevin Spacey) to abandon the teachers’ union negotiations on the education bill, Zoe’s (Kate Mara) elevated public profile creates friction at the Herald.

Francis (Kevin Spacey) initiates a Capitol Hill coup aimed at undermining a rival and gaining critical support for the education bill. As Zoe’s (Kate Mara) rising stock earns her both allies and enemies at the Herald, Russo (Corey Stoll) is forced to take a position that could end his political career.

As Francis (Kevin Spacey) and Zoe (Kate Mara) mix business with pleasure, a showdown with the teachers’ union over the education bill threatens to derail Claire’s (Robin Wright) CWI fundraiser.

Despite an unpopular teachers’ strike, Francis (Kevin Spacey) turns up the heat on his union counterpart. Meanwhile, as Russo (Corey Stoll) commits to sobriety in order to run for governor, Claire (Robin Wright) is forced to face up to the compromises demanded by her marriage to Francis.