Set in Washington, D.C., this film documents an attempted power grab by White House Chief of Staff Jacob Conrad (Donald Sutherland). Bobby Bishop (Charlie Sheen) is a special aide to the President of the United States (Sam Waterston) who finds out about a plot to assassinate the President from a former professor (Theodore Bikel). Bobby's old professor is murdered shortly thereafter and Bobby is left to try to uncover the conspiracy on his own. He recruits his journalist friend Amanda Givens (Linda Hamilton) to help him uncover the mystery and stop the assassination.