When the newly elected President reneges on a promise, Francis and Claire decide to sever all allegiances and toss the rules out the window.
Francis and Doug plan to frame Secretary of State nominee, Michael Kern. Meanwhile, Zoe's popularity at the Washington Herald continues to grow.
Francis heads for his hometown to deal with a crisis. Zoe negotiates the politics of being a journalist on the rise. Claire finds herself a new business partner.
Francis shakes down the Congressional leadership. Zoe is offered the promotion of White House Correspondent and doesn't know if she should take it or not.
A feud starts between Francis and Marty Spinella. Russo goes into depression about the job losses at the shipyards.
The strike between Frank and Marty starts to get out of hand. Russo has decided to run for Governor of Pennsylvania.
Frank helps Peter get ready for his governor race, but Peter is starting to have second thoughts. Doug tries to help a young hooker in trouble.
Frank has a library named after him at his old military school. Peter tries to win back the support of his hometown.
Frank tries to do whatever it takes to get the new bill passed in Congress. Russo goes on a bus campaign with the Vice President, but the VP is not making it an easy trip for him. Zoe's relationship with Frank gets a little bumpy.
Claire fuels an old flame. Peter wrestles with his demons. Francis crosses the point of no return.
Zoe extends her time away from The Hill while Francis tracks down Russo and engages in damage control.
The President sends Frank to St. Louis to persuade Raymond Tusk into becoming the new Vice President. Zoe and Janine investigate Peter Russo's death.
Frank scrambles to keep his plan on track. Gillian is planning to sue Claire. Zoe, Janine, and Lucas investigate Rachel Posner and her relationship with Peter Russo.
The Underwoods tackle two threats that could bring their plans to ruin. Francis grooms his replacement as Whip. Claire goes on the offensive.
Amid turmoil in the home, Frank takes office. Foreign relations become entangled as Durant's team bungles a meeting. As foes negotiate to thwart her, Jackie maneuvers to strengthen her position. Lucas acquires new skills in order to pursue his secret investigation.
Tension rises between Francis and Raymond Tusk as the situation with China deteriorates. A battle in the Senate pits Francis against the Republicans.
A terror scare at the Capitol traps Francis with a resentful Donald Blythe. Claire gives a live interview that rocks the media.
Francis back-channels with a Chinese billionaire. Lucas uses extreme measures to expose the Vice President. A shadowy figure joins Team Underwood.
Amidst an energy crisis, Francis and Tusk end their shaky alliance. Lucas must make a difficult choice. Stamper grows closer to Rachel.
Despite some friction, the Walkers deepen their friendship with the Underwoods. But it's all-out war between Francis and Tusk.
The war with Tusk intensifies. Claire influences Tricia Walker politically and domestically. Francis has a show-down with Linda Vasquez.
Things get personal when Tusk blindsides the Underwoods with a scandal. Freddy and his BBQ joint get caught up in the mix.
With a military stand-off overseas and potential violence at home, Francis wants to finish off Tusk for good. Claire and Jackie Sharp collide.
A Special Prosecutor interrogates Francis. Remy Danton tries to keep his options open. Stamper wrestles with his demons.
Francis finds himself shut out and Claire makes a difficult sacrifice. Stamper tries to regain control.
Francis faces annihilation while the nation is in an uproar. Stamper must tie up loose ends. Claire feels the cost of ruthlessness.
A rocky start for the Underwood Presidency. Frank wants to introduce an ambitious jobs program, while Claire sets her sights on the United Nations.
Claire's U.N. bid runs into trouble. Frank fights off mutiny with a bold address to the country.
The Russian president's state visit becomes a cold war of wills, and some punks heat things up.
Claire bypasses Russia at the U.N. Frank tries to outmaneuver a potential challenger and ends up face to face with a higher power.
Frank declares war on Congress to jump-start his jobs program. Claire spars with the Russian Ambassador.
Frank and Claire travel to Moscow to negotiate the return of an imprisoned U.S. citizen. Claire takes a stand that jeopardizes their plans.
The damage is done and the Underwoods must repair it. But deep wounds don't heal fast, and sometimes not at all.
A hurricane endangers more than just the entire East Coast and Frank must make a difficult choice.
The Jordan Valley erupts in chaos as Frank's campaign is picking up steam. Claire gets disturbing intel and counsels him.
Frank needs to deal with Petrov one on one while Claire tries to preserve the peace-keeping mission. Sacrifices must be made.
Things turn ugly when Frank, Jackie, and Heather square off during their first debate. Tom joins Claire on the campaign trail.
Heather Dunbar goes for the jugular, forcing Claire to confront her worst fears. The rift between Frank and Claire widens.
In the midst of the Iowa caucuses, Frank and Claire must confront hard truths about each other.
Claire's absence causes problems for Frank on the campaign trail amid rumors of a marital rift. Claire tries to strike out on her own.
As Claire begins exploring a campaign of her own, she and Frank engage in backdoor political maneuvering. But this time they're not on the same side.
Claire joins Frank as he stumps in South Carolina, but he doesn't trust her. A disastrous scandal blindsides Frank's campaign on primary day.
Claire threatens Frank. Frank makes a politically bold move that may provoke Russia. An event at a campaign stop changes everything.
Claire advises Donald Blythe on dealing with Petrov. Further investigations of Lucas Goodwin dredges up his accusations against Frank.
Claire clashes with the Secretary of State over her involvement in negotiations with Russia. Dunbar must choose between her campaign and her ethics.
Frank and Claire adjust to their new reality. The search for Frank's running mate begins. Frank starts a campaign to weaken Conway's strong support.
Formidable as ever, both Underwoods have their eyes on the big picture as they manipulate a potential running mate and push the gun bill.
At the convention, Frank and his team publicly push for Catherine Durant to be chosen as his running mate, but privately pursue a different agenda.
As Frank deals with a new threat to his candidacy, Claire has doubts about their plan. Claire faces a difficult decision concerning her mother.
Frank ups the ante on the war on terror to counter Conway's public show of strength. Tom joins Claire on the campaign trail.
Frank asks Will to help deal with extremists threatening to murder hostages. Hammerschmidt digs deeper into the allegations against Frank.
As the hostage situation continues, Claire secretly negotiates with Yusuf al Ahmadi. Frank confronts Hammerschmidt.
As Congress debates investigating Frank, he and Claire attempt to stoke fear of terrorism. Tom Yates continues his stay in the White House.
Frank and his team work to leverage support in key states by any means necessary. Claire learns some upsetting news about one of Frank's friends.
The day before the election, Conway holds a 24-hour Skype session with voters, while Frank and Claire stump in key states and try to discredit him.
With a tight race and low voter turnout on Election Day, things look grim for Frank. But he's still got one more trick up his sleeve.
Nine weeks after Election Day, the Underwoods work to consolidate their power. Leann tries to track down a missing Aidan Macallan.
In the midst of uncertainty, suspected Russian forces take over an American station in Antarctica. Meanwhile, a damaging news leak could hurt Frank.
When a crisis forces White House personnel to take shelter in a bunker, Commerce Department official Jane Davis negotiates through back channels.
While Frank attends an elite men's weekend gathering to firm up support, Claire deals with a stranded Russian ship and threats from Petrov.
Petrov tries to influence affairs in the U.S. Jane discusses her agenda with Claire. With her job at stake, Leann reaches out to a reporter for help.
The Underwoods and their team angle to undermine the revived committee investigating Frank. Hammerschmidt's investigation heats up.
As the team tries to control fallout from damaging testimony and leaks, everyone is under suspicion and tensions flare between Frank and Claire.
Frank attempts to stop Cathy from testifying. With Hammerschmidt sniffing out the truth, the Underwoods throw someone close to them under the bus.
In the wake of a surprising announcement, everything at the White House is shaken up. A decision must be made about whether to go to war.
As the first woman president, Claire faces increased scrutiny and threats. Sibling power couple Annette and Bill Shepherd attempt to influence policy.
Claire clashes with the Shepherds and Mark Usher, who pressure her to sign the Future Act. Doug makes an unexpected move.
The Shepherds push Claire on a Supreme Court nomination. Doug works to find a new path for himself. Claire consults with Jane on Syria.
As a crisis mounts in Syria, Russian President Viktor Petrov wants to make a deal with Claire. Questions arise about Tom Yates's whereabouts.
Claire allows her enemies to think she's incapacitated as they plot to remove her from office. Doug's investigation leads him to uncover a secret.
Claire makes staff changes. The Shepherds try to recruit Doug to their side. With Mark facing intense scrutiny, Jane offers advice.
While the Shepherd family attempts to diminish Claire's power, Doug goes off the grid but continues angling to advance his agenda.
Claire tries to tarnish Frank's legacy. Doug provokes Claire by releasing excerpts from Frank's diary. A rift develops between the Shepherds.
