A governor and the President of the United States jeopardize their political lives when they defy the Supreme Court because they fear that judicial activism endangers the nation’s political and justice systems.

SYNOPSIS:

When the newly elected governor of California pushes through a tough immigration law, the U.S. Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional. But the decorated Afghan War veteran ignores the ruling, igniting a clash between federal, state and judicial power. This leaves the governor’s long-time friend, the president of the United States, to decide whether to federalize the California National Guard to enforce the Court’s ruling.

Battling the governor is a savvy member of the opposition party. An expert in backroom machinations, she’ll go to any lengths to force the governor to obey the Court decision, even blackmailing him over a romantic affair he had years earlier. He confesses to his wife, who temporarily leaves him.

As these forces clash, tragedy befalls two Mexican families in the country illegally who struggle to survive in the hypertensive environment created by the immigration law. One of them begins selling fake identity documents to illegals. He’s caught and forced to go on the lam, leaving his pregnant wife and three children behind.

In the last scene, it’s revealed that the president, his chief of staff, a Supreme Court Justice and the governor had planned the battle with the Court, believing that federal courts have become too powerful and acting beyond the authority enumerated in the Constitution. They hope their plot will change that and are certain the Founding Fathers would agree with their actions. Thus, the title, The Founders’ Plot.

The unfolding of these interwoven events creates a tense, fast-paced movie that parallels the current tumult over illegal immigration and the on-going debate on Constitutional interpretation.