Sunrise

In 1921, 'Franklin Delano Roosevelt', having been the losing vice-presidential candidate in the 1920 election, has few to no thoughts of re-entering politics, although he is still working tirelessly for the Democratic Party. That summer, he, his wife Eleanor Roosevelt and their five children are vacationing at their summer property on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, when he begins to have mobility problems with his legs. It is initially diagnosed as a minor medical problem, but is ultimately discovered to be infantile paralysis, also known as polio. Those around him must help him adjust to this physical disability, which they all hope is only temporary. But they must also help him discover what the paralysis means for his professional future. His mother, Sara Roosevelt, and his best friend and adviser, Louis Howe, are the most at odds with each other. Eleanor, on the other hand, must take over many of the public duties for her husband, which she feels ill equipped initially to handle. As the years pass and the paralysis remains, Franklin comes to the realization of his capabilities and he thinks of resurrecting his political career. These thoughts culminate at the 1924 Democratic presidential nomination convention, where Franklin must take the biggest ten steps of his life up to that point.