Episode 1

In the maelstrom of Washington politics, Frances Underwood, also known as Frank, has served in Congress for 22 years as House Majority Whip.Frank's job is to promote and maintain the operation of the House of Representatives with a Democratic majority. He considers himself like a plumber who unblocks sewers, working quietly and only for the benefit of the party.

Frank's wife Carlisle is a beautiful and thoughtful woman who has her own ideals and career, but always puts her husband's career first.Throughout Frank's political career, Carlyle was not only his spiritual support, but also an important driving force behind him.However, when Frank's political ambitions were thwarted, cracks began to appear in their relationship.

At the 2013 New Year's dinner, the next elected president Garrett Walker and Vice President Jim Matthews were the center of attention.But in Frank's eyes, these politicians are just tools for his advancement.His carefully planned political layout was shattered by Garrett's betrayal, which made Frank deeply angry and disappointed.

Linda Vasquez, Garrett's chief of staff, was seen by Frank as little more than a White House watchdog.However, it was this seemingly inconspicuous character who exposed Frank's political conspiracy at a critical moment, causing him to fall into the whirlpool of public opinion.

Frank originally planned to consolidate his position by manipulating the soon-to-be-appointed new Secretary of State Michael Cohen, but unexpectedly encountered a setback.Faced with a dilemma, he chose the strategy of taking a step back and looking for new replacements.In the process, Katherine Durant became his target.This congressman who once opposed Garrett became Frank's best candidate.

Meanwhile, Zoe Barnes, a first-time reporter at the Washington Herald, is hard at work digging into politics.She longed to write in-depth political news, but was constrained by newspaper rules.In order to get the exclusive inside story, Zoe took the risk to watch a performance at the National Performing Arts Center with a government employee.However, at the show, Zoe accidentally caught Frank staring at her butt.This allowed her to see an opportunity and decided to use her beauty and intelligence to get close to Frank.

Driven by Chief of Staff Linda, the education reform bill became an important issue in Congress.Frank was fully aware of the bill's importance and that the leftist stance of its author, Donald Bryce, might cause trouble for the bill.However, he did not directly intervene in the drafting process of the bill, but chose to operate behind the scenes to try to get the bill passed at the vote.

However, things didn't go according to Frank's plan.Sonko's company canceled its donation plan because Frank failed to serve as Secretary of State, leaving Carlisle to lay off employees and try to develop overseas projects.At the same time, Frank also faces the threat of Zoe and the scandal of Peter Russell.In this political whirlpool, Frank began to feel unprecedented pressure and challenges.

In the end, in Frank's carefully planned political game, he succeeded in pushing Katherine Durant to the throne of Secretary of State.However, this process also cost him a huge price.