William Walpole Bowater III has been told his whole life that his name will "build character and open doors." Everyone assumes that the heir apparent to the powerful eastern N.C. family will return home after college and take over his father's prestigious law firm as well as assume his father's position as political power broker. But Billy Bowater needs to create his own legacy. When Billy finds himself working as the legislative assistant for Wiley Hoots, the senior senator from N.C., his life takes a different turn. We follow Billy as the senator's staff gears up for a tough reelection campaign against a popular former governor. As the senator's strategists try to assemble an effective campaign plan, a controversial art exhibit opens at the state university's art museum. Astutely, the senator and his staff let the Christian Crusade, a powerful television ministry, create the initial taxpayer indignation over the use of public money to help sponsor this show. As Billy gets more involved with the backroom schemes, he begins to question what has happened to his moral compass. Billy's relationship with Lucy Sue Tribble, the best political reporter in the state, brings his crisis of conscience to a head. Has Billy been sacrificing his soul for the limelight he craves, or is the intrigue of borrowed power just too much for him to overcome?