Patrick Hale (Sean Connery) is a slick television journalist with impressive ratings. When Hale travels to the Middle East to interview a prominent member of Arab royalty, he gets entangled in an intricate plot that involves the American president (George Grizzard), a terrorist group, nuclear devices and possibly even global war. Before long, the CIA, a high-powered arms dealer and religious zealots are involved, giving this dark comedy plenty of satirical fodder.