It is 1801, and in the White House study in the executive mansion, Thomas Jefferson, the newly elected third President of the United States, and his daughter Patsy are reading letters that have just arrived by the post. Patsy is saddened to read that some friends of the family have contracted smallpox, and she's curious to know if it is always fatal. The President has recently received word of a vaccination for smallpox, and decides to investigate the claims of the doctor personally...