Orders to Kill

In 1944 Washington, D.C., Summers, a young U.S. Army Air Force ex-bombardier fluent in French, is selected to assassinate a supposed double agent in Nazi-occupied Paris. He undergoes a briefing on the mission and begins preparations for operating behind enemy lines. This assignment sets the stage for a perilous journey into occupied Europe.

Before deployment, Summers travels home to Boston to visit his mother. After the visit, he is transferred to England for rigorous training. The personal tie to home contrasts with the ruthless demands of the mission awaiting him.

In England, Summers undergoes intense training to prepare for the undercover operation. The program tests his combat, stealth, and linguistic skills under pressure. The grueling preparation underscores the mission's high stakes.

He is dropped into Nazi-occupied France and makes his way toward Paris to begin the mission. Along the route he connects with resistance networks and begins to learn about his target. The journey marks the transition from training to real danger.

In Paris, Léonie, a dressmaker and Resistance contact, briefs Summers on the man to terminate. She provides information about Marcel Lafitte, painting him as the person Summers has been sent to kill. Her briefing frames Lafitte as the person of interest behind the double agent label.

Summers encounters Marcel Lafitte at a Paris café, where Lafitte is gentle, polite, and intelligent. The encounter unsettles Summers' certainty about Lafitte's guilt. The man seems capable of love and loyalty, complicating Summers' mission.

Near curfew, Lafitte appears to save Summers from German detentions by offering him shelter in his office. Summers' doubts deepen as he experiences Lafitte's humanity in the moment. The line between ally and target becomes dangerously blurred.

Back with Léonie, Summers voices his misgivings about Lafitte's loyalty. Léonie rebukes him, reminding him that orders are given for a reason and that hesitation can cost lives. The argument intensifies Summers' inner conflict as the clock ticks toward action.

Resolving to kill Lafitte, Summers returns to Lafitte's office and strikes with a blunt object, stunning the man. Lafitte gazes into his eyes and asks 'Why?', triggering a panic in Summers. He then stabs Lafitte with scissors, killing him, and grabs Lafitte's money to stage it as a robbery.

Summers escapes the Gestapo and hides Lafitte's money in a cemetery to cover his tracks. The burden of guilt drives him toward alcoholism, financed by the stolen funds. He attempts to contact Léonie, but it is too late—the Nazis have captured her.

Months pass and Paris is liberated, but Summers learns that Léonie was captured and killed by the Nazis. He lies low, recovering in a military hospital as the war winds down. The trauma of the mission lingers as he contemplates the consequences of following orders.

It is finally revealed that Lafitte was innocent, contradicting the Army's initial claims. Summers visits Lafitte's wife and daughter, now impoverished, and cannot disclose the full truth. He praises Lafitte as one of the Allies' best Resistance agents and offers them his back pay, which they gratefully accept.