Bob Lee Swagger reluctantly leaves a self-imposed exile at the request of Colonel Isaac Johnson, who appeals to him to help track down an assassin who is planning to shoot the president. Johnson gives him a list of three cities where the President is scheduled to visit, and Swagger assesses a site in Philadelphia as the most likely. This turns out to be a set-up; while Swagger is working with Johnson's agents to find the rumored assassin, the Ethiopian archbishop is shot instead while standing next to the president. Swagger is then shot by a police officer but manages to escape. The agents tell the police that Swagger is the shooter, and a Manhunt (law enforcement) ensues. He encounters a rookie FBI special agent, Nick Memphis, disarms him, and steals his car.