Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) is a Stanford University dropout who learns his identical twin brother Ethan, an officer in the United States Air Force, has been killed. Following the funeral, Jerry is surprised to find in his bank account, and he later finds his Chicago apartment filled with weapons, ammonium nitrate, classified United States Department of Defense documents, and identity document forgery passports. He receives a phone call from a woman (Julianne Moore) who warns that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is about to arrest him and he needs to run.