Dr. Jerry Peyser's (Albert Brooks) daughter, Melissa (Lindsay Sloane), is about to marry Mark Tobias (Ryan Reynolds). Things are going swimmingly until Jerry stumbles across some secret information: Mark's father, Steve (Michael Douglas), is a CIA operative. Fearing that Jerry will compromise his current assignment if he starts blabbing to authorities, Steve dragoons Jerry into assisting with an intercontinental mission that involves a dangerous criminal, Jean-Pierre Thibodoux (David Suchet).