After a brusque, left-wing radio personality gets viciously gunned down in Chicago, the FBI moves in to suss out the perpetrators, who belong to a white supremacist organization in the Corn Belt. The bureau dispatches green agent Cathy Weaver (Debra Winger) to infiltrate the community and expose the group's involvement, but she jeopardizes the investigation when she falls for the chief suspect (Tom Berenger, in a sinister performance).