In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.
After informing his CIA handlers that his next hit will be his last, John Hatch discovers that his target isn't a criminal at all. Refusing to take the woman out, Hatch instead takes it upon himself to protect her and expose the web of corruption at work.