African born Sylvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) finds her tranquil life as a United Nations interpreter abruptly interrupted when she overhears a conversation while retrieving some of her musical equipment at UN headquarters.

Whispered in a dialect known to very few people aside those living in the (fictitious) African nation of her birth, Matobo, Sylvia instantly recognizes the significance of "The Teacher will never leave this room alive".

The "teacher" is African dictator, Zuwanie (Earl Cameron). Once a saviour to the people, now turned political mass murderer and on many citizens' death wish list.

Knowing that she must stop the assassination attempt, she contacts FBI. Her nightmare only compounds, as instead of protecting her, FBI agent Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) investigates her background and motives in order to uncover the truth.

Tobin, dealing with his own personal demons, is not sure whether Sylvia needs protecting or interrogating when he finds out that she used to be an anti-Zuwanie activist.

I really enjoyed the suspense in this thriller. The crew shot most of the scenes at the United Nations headquarters in New York (on weekends), so it was a very cool glimpse into the worldwide association.