It’s 1992, and Eastern Europe is a frontier of promise as well as danger. An American, Dr. Nicholas Pinter, arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria to attend an economic summit. He’s soon plunged into a dangerous game of cat and mouse when a gangster, Serik Doulova, mis-identifies Nick as an agent who has shadowed him across Europe, John Charter. Serik’s "associates," two corrupt Bulgarian detectives, frame Nick for the murder of his friend. Without a passport and unable to leave the country, Nick is soon cornered and without options. An Englishman, Sterling, appears out of nowhere. "Are you John Charter?" Bewildered, Nick nods, and Sterling whisks him to safety.