Part 1, Chapters 1-7 Summary

Ten days before his inauguration, Abraham Lincoln is forced to sneak into Washington, D.C., and is rushed by Congressman Elihu B. Washburne to Willard's Hotel, where he meets ex-rival William H. Seward, who agrees to be Secretary of State if the rest of the Cabinet is moderate. Meanwhile, Chapter 2 shows Mary Surratt, a staunch opponent of abolitionism, hoping there will be no inauguration. Her teenage daughter, Annie, entertains a poor ruffian, David Herold, who shares their views and is beginning a job near the White House.

In Chapter 3, Seward takes Lincoln to the White House, where Pres. Buchanan leaves a Cabinet meeting to give a tour, and then on to the War Department for Gen. Winfield Scott's assessment of the military situation. Seward is surprised that Lincoln arrives with set plans and sees Lincoln as hard and dangerous...