The first season opens in March 1960, as genius advertising executive
Donald "Don" Draper meets
Peggy Olson, his new secretary. They both work at the small but prestigious agency Sterling Cooper; the agency has begun working for the
1960 Richard Nixon presidential campaign, gratis and unbidden, as they believe Nixon's success against
John F. Kennedy will benefit their business. They are also working to reassure their largest client,
Lucky Strike, in the face of resurgent medical research demonstrating smoking is harmful. Don has trouble balancing his life as he cheats on his wife,
Betty Draper, with a
beatnik artist named
Midge Daniels. He later begins a flirtatious relationship with
Rachel Menken, the Jewish owner of a department store who seeks marketing help at Sterling Cooper. Following the death of her mother, Betty begins seeing a psychiatrist, and Don secretly has Betty's doctor report back to him what Betty says in treatment. He is also forced to deal with the arrival of his younger brother,
Adam Whitman, who refers to Don as "Dick Whitman"; Don gives Adam $5,000 and tells him to make a new life for himself, and to never contact him again. Meanwhile, Peggy is subject to passive-aggressive hostility from office manager
Joan Holloway, as well as sexual harassment from her male colleagues. Junior accounts manager
Pete Campbell, who is about to get married, takes a liking to Peggy and the two have sex the night of his bachelor party. Peggy begins writing copy after ad man
Freddy Rumsen recognizes her talent; she is soon given control of her own account, creating a campaign for a weight loss machine.
Roger Sterling, the acerbic son of one of Sterling Cooper's founding partners, cheats on his wife,
Mona, with Joan. He later suffers two heart attacks, drastically changing his outlook on life, and prompting Lucky Strike's owner,
Lee Garner, Sr., to warn the agency's senior partner Bert Cooper that keeping Lucky Strike's account requires Sterling Cooper to do something to "show Don Sterling Cooper appreciates him". Bert then offers Don a partnership, with a 12% share of the business. Don accepts and decides to appoint a new head of accounts to lighten Roger's load. The most promising candidate proves to be
Herman "Duck" Phillips, who is looking for a job after alcoholism and an extramarital affair ended his career at
Y&R's London office. After the partners leave for the day, the Sterling Cooper ad men throw a raucous party the night of the 1960 presidential election, but see their client and preferred choice, Nixon, defeated by Kennedy. Throughout the season, flashbacks to Don's early life as "Dick Whitman" depict his relationships with his unloving, pious stepmother, who calls him a "whore-child", and abusive father
Archibald Whitman, who cheats a
hobo out of promised payment for performing chores. In the
Korean War, Dick is put under the command of Lieutenant Donald Draper, who is soon to be sent home. After an attack, an accidental explosion kills Draper; Whitman switches dog tags with his lieutenant and assumes Draper's identity as a way to escape the war. The Army has "Draper" take Whitman's body back to Whitman's family. The coffin is dropped off by train; Whitman does not exit to greet his family, but a young Adam sees him standing inside the train. Pete, who has demonstrated a propensity to snoop, expresses the belief that he should be promoted to head of accounts. While sitting in Don's office, the mailroom boy mistakes Pete for Don and delivers a package from Adam Whitman filled with Dick Whitman's dog tags and childhood photographs. Pete uses the information to blackmail Don into giving him a promotion. Don neutralizes the threat by telling Bert that he has hired Duck Phillips, knowing it would incite Pete to reveal Don's true identity to Bert. Bert chooses not to believe Pete and gives Don the option to either fire Pete or keep a close eye on him, as "one never knows how loyalty is born." Meanwhile, Peggy seeks medical care for severe stomach pains and discovers that she has experienced a
cryptic pregnancy, with Pete being the baby's father. The season ends just before Thanksgiving 1960, as Betty and Don bicker over Don's lack of interest in attending Thanksgiving dinner with Betty's family. Soon afterwards, Betty discovers that Don has been receiving calls from her psychiatrist. Don is devastated to learn that Adam has hanged himself, and he subsequently makes a new campaign presentation for the
Kodak Carousel that revolves around the "power of nostalgia". On the train ride home, Don has a vision of returning home to announce he will be joining the family for Thanksgiving. Instead, Don returns home to find the house dark and empty; he sits alone at the bottom of the staircase as the season closes. ==Episodes==