Jim Terrier [Sean Penn] is a former Special Forces operative who has become a ruthless, black-ops mercenary. In 2006, he leads a small, corporate-backed team deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, posing as security for local projects while quietly protecting the mining interests that fuel the country’s hidden profits. During this volatile period, he falls for Annie, [Jasmine Trinca] an NGO doctor working in a local hospital. As civil war rages around them, multinational mining companies continue to reap enormous gains at the expense of the people caught in the conflict. When the Minister of Mining announces plans to renegotiate unfair contracts, the mining firms hire Terrier’s unit to carry out the Minister’s assassination to safeguard access to the region’s rich mineral resources. Terrier delivers the fatal shot from a sniper rifle and flees Africa, leaving Annie behind. He soon retires from the mercenary life, hoping to leave the brutal past behind.
Eight years pass, and Terrier returns to the DRC as a charity worker building wells. A brutal assault by a local hit squad leaves him battered, but he kills them all. While searching the attackers’ bodies, he discovers signs that the attack was targeted and not random, confirming that someone is hunting him. Fearing for his life, he travels to London to meet ex-mercenary colleague Cox, [Idris Elba], who reveals that Felix Marti, [Javier Bardem], their former Congo boss, has built a sizable international security firm that sells its services to powerful clients, including the Pentagon. The firm’s leadership is intent on wiping out all the former members of the Congo operation to prevent past actions from emerging into the light. As Terrier becomes the target of escalating hit squads, his friends are killed and Annie is kidnapped.
Terrier clings to a cache of highly compromising materials that could expose Cox’s role in the Congo operation. He uses that evidence to lure Cox and his team to a bullfight in Spain, threatening to reveal their complicity unless they bargain for Annie’s safety in exchange for the proof. Unknown to them, Terrier has also struck a deal with Interpol to provide evidence to aid their ongoing investigation. Despite grappling with severe head trauma from his violent history, Terrier outmatches the seasoned mercenaries sent to eliminate him. As he fights to help Annie escape, Cox finally catches up to them. Terrier is wounded but manages to shoot Cox, who is then gored by a loose bull. Interpol officers arrive and take Terrier into custody, though Agent Barnes promises to do what he can to minimize his sentence.
The story concludes with Terrier, having recovered and been released from custody, reuniting with Annie in the DRC, bearing the scars of his past but choosing to seek a future together.
