Ghetto Pat Calhoun and Perfidia Beverly Hills belong to the far-left revolutionary group the French 75, a bold faction that aims to disrupt the status quo through high-stakes action. After orchestrating a breakout of detained immigrants in California, Perfidia publicly shames the detention center’s commanding officer, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, Sean Penn who becomes enthralled and unsettled at once. Pat and Perfidia’s bond deepens as the French 75 launches a wave of attacks targeting politicians’ offices, banks, and even the power grid. When Perfidia is caught planting a bomb, Lockjaw decides to let her go in exchange for a private moment at a motel. Perfidia gives birth to Charlene; Otillia Gupta plays the newborn Charlene, a discovery that knots the pair’s fates. Pat cannot convince Perfidia to settle into a conventional family life, and she leaves to continue her revolutionary work, leaving Pat and Charlene to endure a life hidden from the world.
Sixteen years later, in the sanctuary city of Baktan Cross, Bob, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, has become a cautious, paranoid drug addict. He tries to shield his daughter Willa, a bright and spirited teen who has learned to navigate hardship on her own, as he wrestles with memories of a past that refuses to stay buried. The political climate around him shifts as Lockjaw, now a colonel, rises within a white-supremacist faction and is invited to join the Christmas Adventurers Club. To protect his secret interracial relationship and to secure control, he hires an Indigenous bounty hunter, Avanti Q, and corrals Bob’s ally Howard Sommerville, Paul Grimstad, into a tense setup that triggers a cry for help from the remaining French 75.
Deandra, a trusted member of the French 75, Regina Hall rescues Willa just before a raid on her school, underscoring the fragile threads that connect the old world to the new resistance. Lockjaw’s troops descend on Bob’s home while he’s overwhelmed by drugs, forcing Bob to flee through a concealed tunnel. He seeks out Sergio St. Carlos, a karate teacher and community leader, Benicio Del Toro who helps evacuate a stream of immigrants through another hidden passage. The chase carries through rooftops as Sergio guides his students to safety, but Bob is eventually captured.
Dealing with the fallout, Perfidia’s betrayal becomes a pivotal revelation as Deandra and the French 75 close ranks. Sergio coordinates efforts to free Bob, and the plan unfolds with a dramatic convoy to the convent where Willa has found shelter. Bob’s escape from custody is engineered by Sergio, who drives him toward the convent before a police stop diverts their path. Hot-wiring a second car, Bob reaches the convent, but his attempt to eliminate Lockjaw fails, leaving the colonel to escalate his grip on the situation. Lockjaw hires Avanti to move Willa to a group of mercenaries, but the assassin’s act of sacrifice buys time for the younger resistance to react.
The nun-filled convent becomes a crucible of truth and family secrets. Willa learns the difficult truth about her mother’s past, while Sergio’s earlier ties to the French 75 surge back into view as the crisis intensifies. The Christmas Adventurers uncover evidence of Lockjaw’s illicit relationship, sending a last-ditch operative to finish both him and Willa. In a raid on the convent, Lockjaw’s power is challenged when he is forced to confront the reality of his paternity—Willa’s DNA proves he is her father, which makes his standing in the club untenable. The decision is made to kill Willa rather than grant her freedom, and Sergio arranges Bob’s escape from custody, driving him to the convent and then pulling him over, only to renege and return with a plan that begins with a risky rescue attempt.
In a brutal confrontation, Avanti frees Willa but dies fighting off the mercenaries; Willa seizes Avanti’s car and weapon and is pursued by Tim Smith, a relentless hunter who meets his end when she lures him into a fatal crash by exploiting a hidden counter-sign. The reunion with Bob is touching, as they embrace amid the chaos and the sense that a future remains possible. Lockjaw, badly scarred, is not welcomed back by the Christmas Adventurers; instead, he is gassed to death and cremated, a cold end to his ascent. Returning home with his daughter, Bob presents Willa with a letter of hope from her mother, and offers his blessing as she heads toward a protest in Oakland; father and daughter share a quiet moment of relief, both relieved to have survived, and they close the chapter by strolling with their iPhones in hand, ready to face whatever comes next.
