Based on Gore Vidal’s stage play, this behind-the-scenes portrait of a presidential convention examines the deal-making and back-stabbing that are all part of the political game. Five men, including characters loosely based on real life politicos such as Adlai Stevenson (Fonda), Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon (both personified by Robertson) vie for the coveted slot of nominee. When the candidates dig up dirt on their competitors, they must decide how far they will go to win the prize. Vidal’s biting view of contemporary political figures is as timely today as it was forty years ago.