Bob Barnes (GEORGE CLOONEY) is a veteran CIA agent nearing the end of a long and respectable career, with a son headed for college (MAX MINGHELLA) and the possibility of spending the latter days of his service in a cushy desk job. A devoted company man, Bob's always been a true believer that his work benefits his government and makes his country a safer place.

In Bob's last assignment, an assassination of two arms dealers in Tehran, a Stinger missile falls into the hands of a mysterious blue-eyed Egyptian. On his return to Washington, Bob is promised a promotion after one last undercover mission – assassinating Prince Nasir. But when one of his field contacts turns on him and the assassination attempt goes terribly awry, Bob isscapegoated by the CIA, betrayed by the organization to which he has devoted his life. As he searches to understand what has happened, he begins to realize that he has been lied to – used as a pawn and never privy to the real motivation for the assignments he has blindly carried out for years.

Bennett Holiday (JEFFREY WRIGHT) is an ambitious Washington attorney at Sloan Whiting, in charge of the delicate task of guiding the Connex-Killen merger through the deep waters of D.C. He needs to give the Justice Department enough material to make their case against Killen for its shady dealings in Kazakhstan without jeopardizing the entire deal. It's in the company and the country's interest that the merger go through. It also serves Bennett's ambitions – ambitions fueled by a father (WILLIAM C. MITCHELL) he is constantly at odds with.

Energy analyst Bryan Woodman (MATT DAMON) is a rising star at an Energy Trading Company, living with his wife Julie (AMANDA PEET) and their two young sons in Geneva. When he attends a party thrown by Prince Nasir's family, a tragic accident results in the death of Bryan's young son. Nasir attempts to make amends for what happened, offering Bryan a business opportunity to help the young leader realize his reformist ideas – an opportunity Bryan embraces, to the dismay of his grieving wife.

Dean Whiting (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER), Bennett's boss, the head of Sloan Whiting and one of the most powerful men in Washington, is trying to undo Nasir's deal with the Chinese. He knows that Nasir's younger, more callow brother, Prince Meshal (AKBAR KURTHA), will be more amenable to American business interests and he pressures the aging Emir to choose his younger son to succeed him, effectively engineering Nasir's political demise.