In 1926 Macon, Georgia, an African American boy named Cecil Gaines overhears Thomas Westfall rape his mother, Hattie Pearl, on a cotton plantation owned by Westfall’s family. Cecil begs his father, Earl, to confront Westfall, but when Earl does so, Westfall shoots him dead. Westfall’s grandmother, Annabeth, trains Cecil to work inside the house, instructing him to be “invisible” as he serves the family meals. As a teenager, Cecil fears that Westfall will kill him too, and decides to leave the plantation. Although he tells his mother goodbye, she has been permanently traumatized by Earl’s death and cannot speak. Struggling to find a job, Cecil travels on foot to North Carolina, where, one night, he punches through the window of an inn and steals a cake. Maynard, an African American butler, discovers Cecil and takes him on as his protégé at the inn. There, Cecil learns how to shine shoes, mix drinks, and anticipate white customers’ needs. When Maynard is offered a butler job at the Excelsior Hotel in Washington, D.C., he says he is too old and suggests Cecil, who takes the job, remembering Maynard’s advice that he must remain non-threatening. In 1957 Washington, D.C., R.D. Warner observes Cecil calmly serve a racist guest at the Excelsior. When prompted for his thoughts on integration, Cecil claims he has no political opinions. Back at home with his wife Gloria, a former maid, and two sons, Charlie and Louis, Cecil gets called for a job interview at the White House. There, he learns that R.D. Warner, head of White House operations, recommended him to the African American maître d', Freddie Fallows, after taking notice of him at the hotel. In Fallows’s office, Cecil makes an informed comment about a cognac decanter on his desk, and the maître d’ hires him while concurrently insulting his subservient demeanor. Cecil and Gloria celebrate the new job at a dinner party with their neighbors, Howard and Gina. Howard asks Cecil’s older son, Louis, if he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps, but Louis demurs. At the White House, Cecil works under head butler Carter Wilson, and Carter's second-in-command, James Holloway, and the three become fast friends. On Cecil's first trip to the Oval Office, Cecil nervously serves coffee to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Sometime later, he returns home tired from work and argues with Louis, who wants to attend a civil rights protest. Cecil forbids his son, but later celebrates when Eisenhower sends national troops to help the “Little Rock Nine,” a group of African American students who met with resistance when they tried to attend the newly desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. After graduating high school, Louis attends Fisk College in Nashville, Tennessee, despite Cecil’s wishes that he go to Howard University, closer to home. Campaigning for president, Vice President Richard M. Nixon visits Carter, James, and Cecil in the White House kitchen and asks about their concerns as African Americans. James reveals that the African American White House staff members are paid forty percent less than their white counterparts, and Nixon promises to rectify the disparity. In 1960, Louis befriends fellow law student Carol Hammie at a meeting held by the Freedom Riders, a civil rights activist group. With the Freedom Riders, Louis takes part in a sit-in at Woolworth’s segregated lunch counter, where white patrons harass and beat the demonstrators. Cecil sees Louis being arrested on television and comes to Louis's court hearing, admonishing his son for breaking the law. Back in Washington, D.C., Gloria reveals to Howard and Gina that Louis is serving a jail term, and they needle her about visiting the White House. Even though Gloria has wanted to go for years, Cecil has never brought her. In 1961, with President John F. Kennedy in office, Cecil spends most of his time at work and rejects Gloria’s drunken advances at home. Meanwhile, Louis joins the Freedom Riders on a bus trip to Birmingham, Alabama, and they are attacked by the Ku Klux Klan. He calls home, and despite his parents’ pleas, Louis insists he will take another bus ride. Desperately lonely, Gloria continues to abuse alcohol and has an affair with Howard. Aware that Louis is an activist, Kennedy tells Cecil that the Freedom Riders have changed his heart, and later announces plans to enact a comprehensive civil rights bill. Soon afterward, Kennedy is assassinated, and Cecil tries to comfort First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who refuses to change her bloodied clothes. Later that day, Cecil reconciles with Gloria and agrees to cut back his work hours. Lyndon B. Johnson takes over the presidency and takes a liking to Cecil while constantly throwing about racist epithets. One day, Johnson asks about Cecil’s sons, and Cecil admits he does not know how Louis is. Although President Johnson makes a televised speech about overcoming bigotry, the Vietnam War earns him a bad reputation. In 1968, Louis and Carol wait in a hotel room with civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a group of other demonstrators. Louis reveals that his father is a butler, and King praises African American domestic workers for showing their work ethic and dignity to white people, claiming that they are inadvertently subversive. One day, Cecil suggests to R.D. Warner that White House staff should be paid and promoted equally, regardless of race, but Warner rejects the request. Dr. King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, and news of his murder incites riots. After years of being away, Louis returns home with Carol, who is dressed provocatively and acts rudely at the dinner table. The two discuss their affiliation with the Black Panthers, a militant organization, and when Gloria changes the conversation, Louis belittles her opinions. Cecil loses his temper and throws Louis and Carol out. Gloria tries to intervene, but when Louis insults his father by referring to him as “the butler,” Gloria slaps her son and sends him away. The next day, Louis is arrested for assaulting a police officer. After Carter bails Louis out of jail, Charlie disappoints his brother by announcing that he will fight in the Vietnam War. In 1969, Cecil overhears President Richard M. Nixon suggest starting his own version of “Black Power” by promoting African American businesses and entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, at a Black Panthers meeting, Louis tells Carol he is not ready to kill for their cause, and leaves when she cannot say she loves him. On Cecil’s birthday, Louis calls Gloria for money and Cecil tells him off. Upon hanging up, two soldiers arrive to inform Cecil and Gloria that Charlie has died at war, and the couple reacts in shock. When facing the news of his Watergate scandal, a drunken Nixon asks Cecil to sit with him and says he will never resign, but Cecil offers no words of encouragement. Louis finishes his master’s degree in political science and runs for office, but Cecil has disowned him because he did not attend Charlie’s funeral. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan asks Cecil to secretly mail checks to people who wrote him about their financial problems. Afterward, Cecil confronts Warner about pay inequality once again, threatening to leave if he is not paid fairly. When Warner says Cecil should move on, Cecil reveals that he told Reagan of his grievance, and Reagan wishes to discuss the problem with Warner directly. After the pay is made equal, First Lady Nancy Reagan commends Cecil for his advocacy and invites him and Gloria to a state dinner at the White House. Although Gloria enjoys herself, Cecil feels that they are only there “for show.” Later, while serving Reagan and two Republican senators, he overhears the president insist that he will veto sanctions against South Africa. The female senator urges Reagan to reconsider, discussing the atrocities of Apartheid; however, Reagan remains steadfast. Cecil finally decides Louis is a hero, not a criminal, and takes Gloria on a road trip to show her the Westfall plantation. Gloria thanks him for taking such good care of her over the years. Later, Cecil informs Reagan that he must quit, and Reagan laments his departure. When Louis leads a demonstration to free South African civil rights leader Nelson Mandela, Cecil surprises him by taking part. The two are arrested, and Cecil happily goes to jail with his son. In 2008, Cecil and Gloria support African American candidate Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and Louis gets elected to Congress. Just before Obama wins the election, Gloria dies. Sometime later, Cecil dons a tie clip that President Johnson gave him, then goes to the White House to visit President Obama.