Master thief Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) breaks into the mansion of billionaire Walter Sullivan (E. G. Marshall), but is forced to hide upon the arrival of Sullivan’s wife Christy (Melora Hardin), on a drunken rendezvous with Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman), the President of the United States. Hidden behind the bedroom vault’s one-way mirror, Whitney watches in horror as Richmond becomes sexually violent; Christy, in self-defense, stabs him with a letter opener. Richmond screams for help, and Secret Service agents Bill Burton (Scott Glenn) and Tim Collin (Dennis Haysbert) burst in and shoot Christy to death. White House Chief of Staff Gloria Russell (Judy Davis) arrives, and they stage the scene to look like a burglary gone wrong. Whitney is unnoticed until he makes his getaway, pursued by the agents, but he manages to escape with millions in valuables as well as the incriminating letter opener.