Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier) is an FBI agent with a long-standing vendetta against a Russian spy named Scuba (Richard Lynch). Now, Scuba is blackmailing the Soviet government by tracking down and assassinating their sleeper agents in the United States. Parmenter discovers that high-school student Jeff Grant (River Phoenix) is the son of two such agents (Caroline Kava, Richard Jenkins), which is a total shock to Jeff. Parmenter must try to track Scuba while also protecting the Grants.