In the days leading up to the Apollo 11 Moon landing, Central Intelligence Agency agent Tom Kidman is tasked with hiring Stanley Kubrick to film a fake moonwalk, in the event the astronauts fail in their mission. The CIA views the Moon landing as a potential ideological victory over the Soviet Union, necessary for American morale. The CIA provides Kidman with a large sum of cash in a briefcase to act as an incentive for Kubrick, with orders to murder Kubrick upon completion of the mission to prevent the story from leaking out. Unbeknownst to the CIA, Kidman is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder due to time spent in Vietnam War, and feels compelled to respond to any frustration with extreme violence.