In 1975, CIA Case Officer John Olson's pursuit of master thief Gabrielle Hyde ends in humiliation, leading to immediate punishment by petty superiors. Two years later, while stationed in Somalia, John and his partner Nate collect intelligence from a local dealer and uncover that Soviet operatives are purchasing classified documents. Their observation mission goes off the rails once KGB legend Sasha Morozov unexpectedly appears. John improvises, barely escaping with his life and the highly classified American intelligence. However, Morozov murders Nate in retaliation. He's summoned back to CIA HQ, where Deputy Director Avery and White House Deputy Chief of Staff William Durbin stave off President Carter's fury with a bold plan. They pair a reluctant John with a temporarily released Hyde to pinpoint the suspected leak at Skunk Works before an upcoming nuclear treaty signing. At the secretive facility, John and Hyde work with engineer Dr.

Andrea Miles to identify the mole. After exhaustive investigation, they discover the leak originates not from Skunk Works but from Washington itself. They execute a daring heist to secure the stealth data, but John confronts Hyde with evidence she's been playing both sides. Despite her claims of using Morozov to avenge childhood trauma, John arrests her. Later, Presidential Advisor William Durbin reveals himself as the true traitor, capturing John and the data before delivering him and Andrea to Morozov at the Los Angeles docks. In a shocking twist at the exchange, Hyde appears to betray John and Andrea, shooting them before handing over the technology to Morozov. This is revealed as an elaborate deception when FBI Agent Vasquez raids the warehouse, giving Hyde an opportunity to swap the real data with flawed decoys. After Durbin's death and Morozov's escape with the useless data, John discovers Hyde's ultimate con: she's stolen and sold the actual technology to a rival American aerospace company.

Having resigned from the CIA, John tracks down Hyde one final time. She hands him a bag of diamonds confiscated from Durbin. She vanishes before he can protest or arrest her. Free from the constraints of government service, John embraces his new life.