Assassination (1987) Plot Summary Explained

Killian is a seasoned Secret Service veteran returning from a six-week sick leave. While he expects to be placed on the Presidential detail for the upcoming inauguration, his superiors assign him to protect First Lady Lara Royce Craig instead. This assignment disappoints him professionally, and it also puts him in an awkward position since Lara is notoriously resistant to security measures.

Foreshadowing: Early in the film, Killian's disappointment at not being on the Presidential detail hints at his desire for a more prestigious role.

• secret service
• assignment
• first lady
• president detail
• killian

Lara is portrayed as arrogant, condescending, and demanding from the start. She openly opposes the administration and views Killian's protective presence as an intrusion on her independence. Her combative personality makes her a difficult charge, as she constantly tries to evade his security measures and questions his authority at every turn.

Foreshadowing: The initial tension between them sets the stage for their reluctant partnership as the danger escalates.

• lara royce
• resistance
• security
• independence
• attitude

The assassination attempts are orchestrated by White House insiders, co-conspirators working to protect President Calvin Craig's public image. They stage the attacks to generate public sympathy for the President and to keep his secret hidden while Lara prepares to file for divorce.

Foreshadowing: As Killian investigates, he notices inconsistencies that point to threats originating from within the corridors of power.

• assassin
• conspiracy
• white house
• contractor
• plotter

President Calvin Craig is not directly ordering the attacks, but his co-conspirators are staging them. The President suffers from a war injury that has left him impotent, and Lara is preparing to file for divorce as his term ends. The conspirators orchestrate the attacks to keep this personal vulnerability hidden, generate public sympathy, and preserve the President's image of strength for potential re-election.

Foreshadowing: The revelation about the President's condition comes later, but the political machinations are hinted at throughout the investigation.

• president calvin craig
• divorce
• impotence
• war injury
• cover-up

The President's war injury left him impotent, which he has kept secret from the public. When Lara decides to file for divorce at the end of his term, she threatens to expose this personal weakness. To prevent the embarrassment and protect his political future, his co-conspirators arrange staged assassination attempts that keep the nation focused on sympathy for the First Lady rather than the President's private secrets.

Foreshadowing: The timing of the divorce filing coincides with the escalation of threats, directly linking Lara's personal decision to the political danger.

• impotence
• war injury
• divorce
• political cover-up
• reputation

The repeated attempts serve multiple purposes: they maintain ongoing public sympathy for the President, they keep the media focused on Lara's vulnerability rather than the President's secrets, and they create a narrative of a dangerous outside threat that requires the President to appear strong. The conspiracy uses each apparent attack to reinforce the image of a President under siege, thereby consolidating political support.

Foreshadowing: The steady escalation of attacks throughout the cross-country pursuit keeps the pressure on and prevents any single incident from being fully investigated.

• staged attacks
• public sympathy
• political manipulation
• media narrative

As Killian travels cross-country protecting Lara, he investigates the attempted assassinations and follows the clues to an assassin and his contractor. He pieces together evidence linking the contractor to White House insiders, uncovering inconsistencies and hidden agendas that point to a broader conspiracy. Through careful deduction and persistence, he connects the attempted killings to political cover-ups.

Foreshadowing: The investigation begins after the first biker attack, with each subsequent close call providing more pieces to the puzzle.

• investigation
• evidence
• contractor
• white house insiders
• uncover truth

After the initial assassination attempt, Killian determines that Lara cannot be safe within the formal security perimeter. He decides to take her across the country, pursuing leads while protecting her. This road-trip element serves both as a tactical move to flush out the assassin and his contractor, and as a narrative device that forces Killian and Lara to work together, gradually building trust between them.

Foreshadowing: The decision to leave Washington marks a turning point where the investigation becomes personal rather than procedural.

• cross-country
• road trip
• chase
• investigation
• survival

Killian gathers enough evidence to link the assassination contractor to White House insiders. He and his allies confront the conspirators directly, bringing the evidence to light either publicly or to a higher authority. This confrontation exposes the scheme and reveals the truth about the White House involvement in orchestrating the attacks on Lara.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the pursuit, Killian's accumulating evidence builds toward this climactic moment of confrontation.

• confrontation
• exposure
• evidence
• truth
• justice

By the end of the movie, the conspiracy is exposed and the threat to Lara is neutralized. Killian successfully protects her from the orchestrated attacks, and the truth about the President's condition and the cover-up comes to light. Lara's safety is restored, and the political fallout reshapes the couple's future while Killian's role in protecting her is solidified.

Foreshadowing: The resolution brings closure to the danger that has surrounded Lara throughout the film.

• lara safety
• resolution
• political fallout
• vindication

Lara's decision to file for divorce threatens to expose the President's secret war injury that left him impotent. Since this is a personal vulnerability that could damage his public image and re-election prospects, the conspirators aim to keep the divorce and its reasons hidden by creating a different narrative, one where the President appears as a sympathetic figure under attack, rather than a man whose wife is leaving him.

Foreshadowing: The timing of Lara's divorce plans directly coincides with the escalation of the assassination attempts.

• divorce filing
• political future
• exposure threat
• re-election