The Order

Bruce Pierce and Gary Yarbrough lure Walter West into the woods for a hunting trip and murder him. The killing demonstrates the brutality of their extremist operation and marks the group's first decisive act against a known member.

Veteran FBI agent Terry Husk reopens the long-vacant field office in Coeur d'Alene as he looks for an easier caseload. He hopes this assignment will also give him a chance to reconnect with his estranged wife and daughter.

On December 18, in Spokane, Washington, Bob Matthews, Bruce Pierce, Gary Yarbrough, and David Lane rob a Washington Mutual branch. The robbery funds their growing extremist operation and signals the start of a wider string of crimes.

Bob Matthews maintains an affair with Zillah Craig, who is pregnant with his child, while he remains married to Debbie. He also has a son with Debbie, illustrating the personal entanglements behind the violent plot.

The group builds a militia and recruits new members, including Sam Stinston, who has access to weapons and is paid a salary to train others. Stinston is brought on to supply arms and skills for their operations.

Husk meets Sheriff Loftlin and Deputy Jamie Bowen, who offers to guide him toward Richard Butler's compound. The encounter sets Husk on a path to understand the white supremacist network.

Bowen explains that Walter West has been missing for weeks and was tied to Aryan Nations, telling Husk that the group is involved in robberies and may be connected to a synagogue bombing. The case deepens Husk's investigation into the extremist network.

Husk and Bowen visit Butler at his compound, where Butler claims he expelled Pierce and Yarbrough from Aryan Nations for misusing the group's printing press. A copy of The Turner Diaries sits on display, hinting at the ideology fueling the splinter groups.

A new recruit, Tony Torres, is introduced to Bob Matthews; Torres reveals his traumatic backstory of job loss to immigrants and a shooting incident that shaped his militant worldview. His presence adds another layer to the group's recruitment and radicalization.

Butler confronts Mathews about the splinter group's aims; Butler prefers working within the law, while Mathews pushes for violence and domestic terrorism. Their conflict helps push the faction toward a more aggressive path.

Butler's assistant delivers a copy of The Turner Diaries to Bowen's home. Husk and Bowen study the book and realize The Order is using it as a blueprint for overthrowing the government.

Mathews orders Pierce to Denver to assassinate Alan Berg, a Hebrew radio host who frequently sparred with anti-Semitic callers. The hit marks a turn toward high-profile political violence.

The group holds up an armored car on a remote California highway, stealing millions in cash. Husk recognizes the scale of the operation and its potential to fund a broader insurgent campaign.

A gun dropped at the California crime scene leads investigators to Tony Torres, who becomes an informant. During a later attempt to arrest Mathews, Bowen provides covering fire but Mathews shoots and kills Bowen as he escapes.

Mathews and his companions retreat to a safe house on Whidbey Island, planning to declare war on the federal government. The FBI orders the house burned to flush Mathews out, and he dies when a cache of ammunition detonates in the blaze.