The film takes place through the eyes of RFK after his brother John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963.[1] As he lives through the loss, he starts to identify himself as a political figure, not just the former president's brother. He makes it official with a 1968 United States presidential election bid in order, what he says, to "save the Democratic Party".[2] During his campaign, in which the American people showed great support for him, RFK was shot and killed by pro-Palestinian activist Sirhan Sirhan as a statement against Kennedy's unwavering support of Israel.[3]