A would-be North Korean defector still reeling over the killing of his family by the communist government when he was just a child determines to destroy the Korean peninsula in a tense, politically minded action thriller directed by Kwak Kyung-taek and starring Jang Dong-gun, Lee Jung-jae, and Lee Mi-yeon. When a vessel sailing a few hundred kilometers off the northeast port of Jt Long in Taiwan is hijacked by pirates and the National Intelligence Service learns that a nuclear guidance kit has been stolen, they quickly dispatch naval lieutenant Kang, Se-jong (Lee Jung-jae) to find out who was responsible for the deed and to bring him to justice. The criminal mastermind in question is Sin (Jang Dong-gun), a man who harbors a deep-rooted hatred for the Korean government due to a tragic event that took place in his childhood. As a young boy, Sin's family had tried to defect to South Korea. When they were turned away by a government who feared complicating their relationship with China, however, Sin watched as his parents were brutally executed and his only sister, Choi, Myung-ju (Lee Mi-yeon), was taken away. Upon learning that Sin currently resides in Russia, Lieutenant Kang travels to the Eastern European republic as the tragedy of Sin's past slowly comes into focus for the sympathetic military man. His mission to apprehend Sin is clear, though, and despite his personal feelings Lieutenant Kang remains determined to get his man by any means necessary.