This political satire, based on a book by an (originally) anonymous insider (now known to be Joe Klein) who worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 Presidential campaign, centres on the charismatic, philandering, power-hungry Southern Democrat governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta).

Together with his equally headstrong wife (Emma Thompson), Stanton rises from obscurity to become a main player on the political map, but various sexual scandals in his private life threaten to derail his ascent to power. Adrian Lester, Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates feature as part of his eccentric campaign team.