Ulrich Mott, portrayed by Christoph Waltz, is a 50-year-old conman driven by ambition and the allure of high society. His journey begins as he secures an internship with a U.S. congressman, where he cunningly exploits the congressman’s ID card to infiltrate an elite banquet. Here, he fortuitously encounters Elsa Brecht, played by Vanessa Redgrave, a wealthy and seasoned socialite and journalist residing in the prestigious Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. Ulrich presents himself as a dedicated doctoral candidate in international relations, which leads to a lunch meeting with Elsa.
The subsequent death of Elsa’s husband plunges her into a state of sorrow, prompting her to withdraw from social engagements, causing concern for her daughter, Amanda, who is portrayed by Annette Bening. As the year 2000 dawns, Ulrich reaches out to Elsa, inviting her to a concert, hoping to restore a spark in her life. At a celebratory party, Amanda is relieved to witness her mother’s renewed energy, blissfully unaware of the underlying changes in Elsa's life. However, a turn of events occurs when Ulrich, to Amanda's astonishment, announces that he and Elsa are set to marry.
Following their union, Elsa leverages her extensive connections to support Ulrich's burgeoning consulting business, which he proudly claims is robust but is actually operated solely by him. In a quest for recognition, Ulrich resorts to name-dropping and lies, luring prominent figures to join his agency’s board. In 2004, however, our protagonist faces humiliation as Iraqi diplomats rebuff his aspirations to mediate peace talks with their adversaries. A bitter evening escalates into a physical confrontation with Elsa, but he manages to prevent her from falling down the stairs, only to later express regret and a sense of humiliation for feeling ridiculed by others in Washington.
Tensions mount when Elsa suspects Ulrich's sexual orientation after witnessing him leave a room with a young man. By 2006, her worst fears are confirmed when she discovers him in a hotel room, naked with another man. Following this shocking revelation and an argument, Elsa files a police report against Ulrich for assault. Subsequently, Ulrich recedes from Elsa's life for two years, communicating only through phone calls during which he claims to be an independent peace envoy in Iraq, to the disbelief of those around him.
Eventually, he returns home, seemingly painting himself as a diplomatic sensation. Yet, following a dinner party disagreement with Elsa, the narrative takes a darker turn. Ulrich returns home to find Elsa dead under mysterious circumstances, prompting the police to launch a homicide investigation that soon leads to charges against him for her murder.
Although Ulrich outwardly collaborates with the legal inquiries, he meticulously withholds vital information from his legal team, including false claims regarding military affiliations and the history of his assault on Elsa. He dismisses his lawyers’ reliance on his full account and persistently misdirects them about evidence suggesting another party was responsible for Elsa’s death, even refraining from disclosing his whereabouts on the fateful night.
In a drastic turn, Ulrich initiates a hunger strike, which lands him in the hospital, further complicating his trial. His attorneys, sensing the unraveling situation, consider declaring him unfit for trial. The climax reveals a shocking truth in the epilogue: after leaving the house on the night of the murder, Ulrich meets with the man found in bed with him. This man cruelly dismisses Ulrich’s advances, calling him pathetic. The evening culminates as Ulrich returns to find Elsa confronting him, now privy to his deception regarding his supposed diplomatic role. She boldly declares her awareness of his true two-year absence; he had not been a peace envoy but rather a desk clerk at a Miami motel, while his claims of grandeur were nothing but a thinly veiled lie. Their heated exchange escalates, with Ulrich frantically rushing up the stairs toward her in a desperate bid to confront the truth of his own failures.
