Inspector Ha Chae-youn, a crisis negotiator working for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who was on a date and was called by her colleague, Superintendent Ahn Hyuk-su, is brought in to handle the situation, despite strong protests from her superior, Captain Jung Jun-gu.
10 days later, a devastated Chae-youn decides to resign from the police force, but Captain Jung urges her to reconsider, before leaving on a work trip.
Upon arrival to a secret location, she meets with the Commissioner of Police Moon Jong-hyuk and Presidential Secretary Gong of National Security.
Chae-yoon is ordered to negotiate with the kidnapper - Min Tae-gu, a Korea-based international arms dealer and UK citizen, who had kidnapped several Korean nationals from Bangkok - including a reporter named Lee Su-mok.
Chae-youn is later informed that the hostages are being held at an island in the Malacca Straits, where a joint military-police op has been sent to, intent on freeing them.
Han also informs them that Daehan Daily, a news outlet Lee is working for, had been ordered to keep silent of their employee's situation, as per requested by the President.
Commissioner Moon and Secretary Gong brings in negotiators from the National Intelligence Services to take over and orders Chae-youn, Ahn, and even Han to leave the site.
Outside, Han reveals to them that Lee is a black agent working for the NIS, whose mission was to spy on Min's syndicate.
She tells them that Min is an arms dealer working in the Malacca Straits, selling every kind of weapons and equipment to other criminals in majority of the Southeast-Asian countries.
As they wait, the NIS tells Chae-youn that Min used to work for Koo as the man in charge for dealing with the company's illegal activities.
Koo also revealed the $50 million worth of taxes that he had evaded, and due to his 'honesty', the government practically erased his criminal activities.
When Chae-youn asks where Koo really is, the NIS agent reveals to her that they were all inside the Nine Electrics weapons laboratory.
Meanwhile, Ahn found out from the escaping Yoon that NIS Deputy Chief Park was the one who asked him to give Agent Lee a false Daehan Daily ID.
Captain Jung was under the command of Chief Park, and that their plan was to kill Hyun-ju by using the Filipino kidnappers as an alibi.
Before answering, they found out from a Thai server that Min had been live-streaming the entire situation on YouTube, which sends the country to a frenzy.
Back in their lounge, Hwang orders Chief Park to invent a story and Commander Son to begin the military operation immediately.
Back in the lab, the military team arrived in Min's location and authorizes the mission, despite Chae-youn's protests.
Min storms the lounge and finally catches Hwang, Koo, Park, and Son, with the bomb strapped to his chest.
Chae-youn convinced Secretary Gong to reveal the true location of Hwang and his cronies, so that they can stop Min.
Chae-youn shows Ahn of Min's pen drive presumably with the dealings of Hwang and his cronies, as stolen by Hyun-ju.
The pen drive is revealed to the court as evidence, and the film ends with Chae-youn reciting an oath.
Shim Sun-ah from Yonhap News Agency praised the film and wrote, "Director Lee builds an engrossing plot brimming over with twists, giving audiences edge-of-the-seat entertainment almost till the end.
[22] On its opening day, the film finished fourth place at the Korean box office, grossing US$576,290 from 81,022 audiences.
[25] During its second weekend, the film had an 18% drop in gross with US$3 million from 368,689 attendance, finishing in second place, tailing The Great Battle in the lead.