In the 80s in Little Odessa, the Ukrainian immigrant Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) decides to change his economical life and becomes an arm dealer with his brother Vitaly Orlov (Jared Leto). His business of gunrunner supplying illegal weapons in disturbed areas of the planet increases with the end of the Cold War, and Yuri bribes a Russian general to sell most of his arsenal. Meanwhile, he becomes a millionaire and uses his money to seduce the beautiful Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan) and they get married, having a son. The detective Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke) chases Yuri trying to put him in jail, but in the end he understands that Yuri is a necessary evil for the interest of his nation