Small successes and embarrassing public gaffes are all part of running for political office, no less so when you are one of 8 candidates struggling to gain a foothold and find your voice in the first major political contest of the season. Filmmaker AJ Schnack travels with an extraordinary cast of political figures – from Senators, Governors and Represenatives to former Pizza Magnates – as they seek to win Iowas first-in-the-nation caucus, catapult to the Republican nomination and take on US President Barack Obama. Over the course of 10 months, Schnack and his team track the candidates through state fairs and town hall meetings, as each tries to rise to the top of the Republican field. But when an ordinary day can be upended by a confrontational heckler, an unexpected questioner or a spouse who goes off-message, the difficulty and challenges of a presidential bid are made clear. As candidates seek to avail themselves to old fashioned retail politics, anything can happen. This is the story of the human beings behind the political caricatures and one unexpected underdog story.