Chicago Police Lieutenant Danny Roman is a top hostage negotiator for the east precinct. His partner, Nate Roenick, warns him that an informant inside the department suspects members of their own unit have embezzled millions from the police disability fund. Before they can meet again, Nate is shot dead, and Danny is lured to the scene and discovered by the police, but is unable to corroborate Nate's story or identify the informant. Danny is targeted by Internal Affairs Inspector Terence Niebaum, whom Nate's informant believed was involved in the embezzlement. The gun is recovered from a pond and linked to one of Danny's cases, and a search of his home produces evidence of an incriminating offshore bank account, making him the prime suspect in the embezzlement and Nate's murder. Forced to surrender his duty weapon and badge, ostracized by his colleagues, and with charges against him pending, Danny storms into Niebaum's office for a confrontation. When the investigatior refuses to cooperate, Danny takes Niebaum, his administrative assistant Maggie, Danny's commander and friend Grant Frost, and con man Rudy Timmons as hostages. With the building evacuated and placed under siege by his own unit and the FBI, Danny will only speak to fellow negotiator Lieutenant Chris Sabian of the west precinct. He also issues his demands: the render of his badge, a department funeral if he gets killed, and the identities of Nate's informant and killer. Chris, who sees tactical action as a last resort, clashes with Danny's unit, particularly chief Allen Travis and commander Adam Beck. A breach of Niebaum's office backfires when a SWAT marksman refuses to shoot Danny, who captures officers Scott and Markus. Chris takes command of the scene, but Danny seemingly executes Scott to reestablish control. Danny releases Frost to Chris in exchange for restoring the building's electricity, allowing him to search the files of Niebaum's computer, discovering that Internal Affairs had wiretap recordings of Nate. Believing Niebaum gave fabricated information when he claimed of not having any connections to Nate while he was investigating the fund, Danny lashes out and slaps him in the face. With the help of Rudy and Maggie, Danny discovers the embezzlement scheme: Corrupt officers submitted false disability claims that were processed by an unknown insider on the disability fund's board. Chris claims to have located the informant in an attempt to end the standoff, but Danny realizes he is bluffing when Niebaum's files reveal that Nate himself was the informant. When Danny threatens to expose Niebaum to sniper fire in his office window, Niebaum admits that Nate gave him wiretaps implicating three of his squadmates in the scheme; Allen, Hellman and Argento. Niebaum was bribed by the guilty officers to cover up their crimes, while Nate refused and was killed afterwards. Niebaum has safely hidden the wiretaps, but the corrupt officers enter through the air vents and open fire, killing Niebaum in the process. Danny fends them off with flashbangs taken from the captured officers, and Niebaum's murder convinces the remaining hostages that Danny is being set up. Convinced that the police are ineffectual, the FBI assume jurisdiction over the operation, cease negotiations, relieving Chris of his command and ordering a full breach. While Danny prepares for his eventual arrest, Maggie tells him that Niebaum likely kept Nate's wiretaps at home, while Chris reenters the building to warn Danny, who reveals that Scott is unharmed. Chris agrees to help Danny clear his name, and as the building is raided and the other hostages are rescued, Danny disguises himself in Scott's uniform and escapes. He and Chris are unable to locate the wiretaps at Niebaum's home, where the corrupt officers are about to kill Danny, but Frost arrives to negotiate with him alone. Chris shoots Danny, offering to destroy Roenick's evidence in exchange for a cut of the embezzled funds. Frost agrees, effectively revealing himself as the ringleader of the conspiracy, the insider on the disability fund's board, and Nate's killer. Crushing the floppy disks, Chris gives him and shooting Niebaum's computer, Frost exits the house. Outside, Frost discovers that Chris deliberately wounded Danny, who broadcasts Frost's entire confession to the awaiting police officers with a walkie talkie radio. Humiliated, Frost attempts to commit suicide, but is shot in the shoulder by Beck and arrested with the other corrupt officers, and Danny narrowly refrains from shooting Frost to avenge Nate. As Danny is loaded into an ambulance with his wife Karen, Chris returns his badge to him and departs.

In the Welsh seaside city of Swansea, Oliver Tate is an eccentric, unpopular 15-year-old who is infatuated with his mischievous classmate, Jordana Bevan. After Oliver bullies another female classmate to impress Jordana, she invites him to meet secretly after school, before taking pictures of her and Oliver kissing. Jordana uses the pictures to make her ex-boyfriend Mark jealous, resulting in Oliver being beaten up by Mark at school for refusing to call Jordana a "slut". Jordana becomes Oliver's girlfriend and, after a couple of weeks, they lose their virginity to each other in his bedroom while his parents are out. Oliver begins to suspect that his mother Jill is having an affair with a previous lover, New Age motivational speaker Graham Purvis, who has moved in next door with his girlfriend Kim-Lin. Worried about his parents' marriage, he monitors their sex life by checking the dimmer switch in their bedroom, concluding that they have not had sex for seven months. After spotting Jill in town with Graham and overhearing her talk about him on the phone, Oliver tries to warn his depressed father Lloyd, who dismisses his suspicions. Oliver spies on Jill attending one of Graham's seminars, where Graham tells her that he has broken up with Kim-Lin. As Oliver's relationship with Jordana grows, she reveals that her mother has been diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumour. At an awkward early Christmas dinner at Jordana's house, Oliver is welcomed by her parents but witnesses her father break down emotionally after a dimmer switch stops working. Despite agreeing to visit Jordana's mother at the hospital the day of her operation, Oliver loses his nerve and temporarily disappears from Jordana's life so he can focus on salvaging his parents' marriage, planning to resume his relationship with Jordana afterwards. On the night of New Year's Eve, Jill goes to the beach with Graham. While searching for Jill on the crowded beach, Oliver is stunned to see Jordana with another boy. He then spies on his mother entering the back of Graham's van and assumes the worst. Enraged, he goes home and takes several of Lloyd's antidepressants before breaking into Graham's house, where he gets drunk and commits minor acts of vandalism. Upon returning home, Graham finds an intoxicated Oliver, Graham later drops Oliver off at his doorstep and leaves. The next morning, Oliver awakes to see that his parents are not angry with him and are reconciling, though Jill admits that she gave Graham a handjob. Jordana breaks up with Oliver via a letter informing him that she is seeing someone else and that her mother's operation was successful; he becomes depressed over the next few months. At school, Oliver is commonly harassed by classmate Chips. Oliver later apologises to Jordana for not visiting her mother at the hospital, hoping she will leave her new boyfriend for him, but she rejects him. Oliver later encounters Jordana on the beach at sunset, learning that she does not actually have a new boyfriend. She declares that Oliver was horrible to her, and he admits that he made a mistake. Together, they walk several inches deep into the sea, smiling at each other as the sun shines at them.

In October 1962, U-2 aerial surveillance photos reveal that the Soviet Union is placing intermediate-range ballistic missiles carrying nuclear weapons in Cuba. U.S. president John F. Kennedy and his advisers must come up with a plan to prevent their activation. Kennedy wants to show that the United States will not allow a missile threat. The Joint Chiefs of Staff advise military strikes against the missile sites followed by an invasion of Cuba. Kennedy is reluctant to this because it would likely cause the Soviets to invade West Berlin, which could lead to an all-out war. Kennedy sees an analogy to the events that started World War I, where the tactics of both sides' commanders had not evolved since the previous war and were obsolete, only this time nuclear weapons are involved. War appears to be almost inevitable. The Kennedy administration tries to find a solution that will remove the missiles but avoid an act of war. They reject a blockade, as this is formally regarded as an act of war, and settle on what they publicly describe as a quarantine. They announce that the U.S. naval forces will stop all ships entering Cuban waters and inspect them to verify they are not carrying weapons. The Soviet Union sends mixed messages in response. Off the shores of Cuba, the Soviet ships turn back from the quarantine lines. Spy plane pictures continue to be ordered, but one of Kennedy's top advisers, Kenneth O'Donnell, calls the pilots to ensure they do not report that they were shot at or fired upon, because if they were, the country would be forced to retaliate under the rules of engagement. John A. Scali, a reporter with ABC News, is contacted by Soviet "emissary" Aleksandr Fomin, and through this back-channel communication method the Soviets offer to remove the missiles in exchange for public assurances that the U.S. will never invade Cuba. A long message in the same tone as the informal communication from Fomin, apparently written personally by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, is received. This is followed by a second, more hard line cable in which the Soviets offer a deal involving U.S. removal of its Jupiter missiles from Turkey. The Kennedy administration interprets the second as a response from the Soviet Politburo, and decides to ignore it and respond to the message assumed to be from Khrushchev. There are several mis-steps during the crisis: the defense readiness level of Strategic Air Command (SAC) is raised to DEFCON 2 (one step shy of maximum readiness for imminent war), without informing Kennedy; a U.S. nuclear weapon test proceeds (Bluegill Triple Prime) and a routine test launch of a U.S. offensive missile is also carried out without the President's knowledge. In a bid for time while under pressure from the military for an immediate strike, President Kennedy authorizes attacks on the missile sites and an invasion of Cuba, to commence the following Monday. An Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane is sent over Cuba to gather intelligence for the attack, but is shot down, killing the pilot Rudolf Anderson. After much deliberation with the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, Kennedy makes a final attempt to avoid a war by sending his brother Robert to meet with Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin on Friday night. Bobby reiterates the demand that the Soviets remove their missiles from Cuba, and in return promises not to invade or assist in the invasion of Cuba. Dobrynin insists that the U.S. must also remove all Jupiter missiles from Turkey, on the border of the Soviet Union. Bobby says that a quid pro quo is not possible, but in exchange for Khrushchev removing the missiles from Cuba, there will be a secret understanding that the U.S. will remove all of its "obsolete" missiles from Turkey within six months as part of a pre-scheduled plan. The Soviets announce on Sunday that they will remove their missiles from Cuba, averting a war that could have escalated to the use of nuclear weapons. President Kennedy later dictates a letter of condolence to the family of the reconnaissance pilot Anderson.

In 2013, Edward Snowden arranges a clandestine meeting in Hong Kong with documentarian Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald. They discuss releasing the classified information in the former's possession regarding illegal mass surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA). Poitras later released a documentary about this meeting titled Citizenfour, which was used in a scene within the film. In 2004, Snowden is undergoing basic training, having enlisted in the U.S. Army with intentions of matriculating to the Special Forces. He eventually fractures his tibia and is informed that he will be receiving an administrative discharge in the process but is encouraged to serve his country in other ways. Snowden applies for a position at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and subsequently undergoes the screening process. Initially, his answers to the screening questions are insufficient, but Deputy Director Corbin O'Brian decides to take a chance on him, in the wake of extraordinary times. Snowden is then brought to "The Hill" where he is educated and tested on cyberwarfare. He learns about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which circumvents the Fourth Amendment rights of U.S. citizens by allowing warrant requests to be approved by a panel of judges that were appointed by the Chief Justice. Snowden and his peers are each tasked with building a covert communications network in their hometown, deleting it, and then rebuilding it in eight hours or less, with five hours being the average time taken. Snowden impresses O'Brian when he completes the exercise in 38 minutes. Meanwhile, Snowden meets Lindsay Mills via a dating website. The two bond, despite sharply contrasting political ideologies. Snowden acquires his first post abroad working with diplomatic cover in Geneva in 2007, taking Mills with him. He meets Gabriel Sol, who has ample experience in electronic surveillance. Snowden begins questioning the ethical implications of their assignment. After his superior decides to set up their target on a DUI charge in order to coerce information from him, Snowden resigns from the CIA. Snowden later takes a position with the NSA in Japan, initially under the pretense of building a program that would allow the government to back up all critical data from the Middle East in an emergency, a program which he names "Epic Shelter". Snowden learns of the practices the NSA and other U.S. government agencies are using not just in Japan, but in most countries which the U.S. is currently allied with. These plans include planting malware in different computers that manage government, infrastructure and financial sectors so that, in the event that any allies turn against the US, that country can effectively be shut down in retaliation. The stress associated with the job results in the end of his relationship with Mills, who moves back with her family in Maryland. Three months later, Snowden has left his post with the NSA and returned to Maryland where he and Mills resume their relationship and he takes a position consulting for the CIA. During a hunting trip, O'Brian reveals an operation in Oahu that revolves around counterattacking Chinese hackers. After Snowden is diagnosed with epilepsy, Mills agrees that he should join the operation, believing the environment in Hawaii may be beneficial for his health. Upon beginning his new job in " The Tunnel ", Snowden learns that Epic Shelter is actually providing real-time data that assists U.S. drone pilots in launching lethal strikes against terror suspects in Pakistan. Snowden ultimately becomes disillusioned with what he is a part of. It culminates in Snowden smuggling a microSD card into his office by way of a Rubik's Cube, and loading all relevant data. He then tells his colleagues he is feeling ill and departs. He advises Mills to fly home to Maryland, after which he contacts Poitras and Greenwald to schedule the meeting. With the help of journalist Ewen MacAskill, the information is disseminated to the press on June 5, 2013, with additional leaks published in the following days. In the aftermath, with the help of MacAskill, Greenwald and Poitras, Snowden is smuggled out of Hong Kong on a flight bound for Latin America via Russia. However, the U.S. government revokes his passport, forcing him to remain in Moscow indefinitely. He is eventually granted asylum for three years, with Mills joining him at a later date. In a remote interview expressing his activism, Snowden states that he is willing to face a court in the US if he is guaranteed a fair trial. Credit sequences showcase news headlines and interviews detailing the consequences of Snowden's actions in Congress, leading to broad reform in the NSA.

In LaGrange, Ohio, construction worker Curtis LaForche has apocalyptic dreams and visual and auditory hallucinations of rain "like fresh motor oil," swarms of menacing black birds, and being harmed by people close to him. He hides all of this from his wife, Samantha, and their deaf daughter, Hannah. He instead channels his anxieties into a compulsive obsession to improve and enlarge a storm shelter in his backyard; however, his increasingly strange behavior – including a tendency to cut ties with anyone in his life that has harmed him only in his dreams – strains his relationship with his family, friends, employer, and the close-knit town. He also puts his job in jeopardy as he borrows heavy equipment from the company for personal use to build his shelter. To deal with his increased insomnia and apocalyptic visions, Curtis sees a counselor at a free clinic, with whom he talks about his family's psychological history. His mother, Sarah, has paranoid schizophrenia that surfaced in her at about the same age that Curtis is now. He's worried that he may also have the disorder. In order to have the remodeled storm shelter completed, Curtis gets a home improvement loan he can't afford to start building the shelter – all without telling his wife. Samantha becomes angry when she discovers the project. After Curtis takes more than the prescribed dose of a sedative and has a seizure, Samantha calls an ambulance. He recovers, then finally explains the truth to her, including his dreams. Curtis is increasingly absent from work, causing tension with his boss, as he and Samantha make preparations for the cochlear implant surgery for Hannah in six weeks' time. Having been informed of the borrowed work equipment, Curtis's boss fires him and gives him only two weeks' worth of medical insurance benefits, after placing Dewart, the close friend and coworker whom Curtis asked to help him start construction of the shelter, on two weeks' unpaid administrative leave. Curtis buys gas masks for his family and extends his previous employer's health insurance policy for a few extra weeks. After he finds out that his counselor at the free clinic has suddenly transferred and been replaced with a new one, he walks out. Tensions linger between Curtis and Samantha over the loss of his job at such a crucial time for their family. Samantha gets Curtis to see an actual psychiatrist and demands that they attend a social function so she can restore some sense of normalcy to their strained, increasingly isolated life. At a Lions Club community gathering, a bitter Dewart, who has been spreading gossip that Curtis is crazy, is angrily provoked and punches him. Enraged, Curtis knocks Dewart to the floor, overturns a table, and unleashes a frightening verbal tirade upon everyone present. He prophetically shouts that a devastating storm is coming, insisting that none of them are prepared. Later, a tornado warning sends him and his family into the shelter. After they awaken, Curtis reluctantly removes his gas mask, prompted by Samantha. They go to open the shelter doors, but he still hears a storm outside. His wife implores him, insisting that there's no storm and that he needs to open the door. After a tense standoff, Curtis throws open the doors into the blinding sun; a strong but bearable storm has passed, and neighbors are cleaning up broken tree limbs and other yard debris as power company trucks restore electricity along the street. A psychiatrist advises the couple to go through with their planned, annual beach vacation but that Curtis will need to get psychiatric care in a facility away from his family upon their return. At Myrtle Beach, while Curtis is building sandcastles with Hannah, she signs the word "storm.” As Samantha exits their beach house, the thick, oily rain that Curtis spoke of begins to fall, staining her outstretched hand. Samantha looks up to a bigger version of the ominous storm clouds Curtis had seen, massing over the ocean; multiple waterspouts reach down to the ocean's surface, and the tide pulls back as a tsunami looms in the distance. Samantha and Curtis exchange glances as Samantha whispers "okay.”

With memories revolving around the family's cottage near Lake Simcoe, Glenn Gould recalls how in his childhood, he had ostensibly made the decision to become a concert pianist at age five. In fact, he believes his mother had already chosen that career for him. He recalls being able to read music before he could read books, and learned the music of Johann Sebastian Bach from his mother. Gould later imagines interviewing himself, in which he confronts himself about why he chose to quit giving concerts at the age of 32, preferring to communicate to his audience through media instead. Gould reminds himself that the musician is inescapably an autocrat, no matter how benign. In crafting radio documentaries, Gould works on a piece called The Idea of North, which touches on the effects the environment has on the solitude and isolation of the people of Northern Canada. In a media interview, Gould reveals that The Idea of North is one of only five of his documentaries about isolation, and that he intends to make a comedy next because he is tired of serious expression. Interviewers also push him to explain how he could achieve his level of musical perfection without interest in being overly technical in his piano playing. They ask why he insists on being interviewed only over the telephone. Others question if Gould's supposed obsession in technology is merely a smokescreen to keep his distance from real people. As the markets plummet, Gould picks up word from the bodyguard of the visiting Sheik Yamani to invest in an obscure company called Sotex Resources, which is set to benefit from an exploration contract. Gould becomes the only client to profit in the wake of financial meltdown. However, Margaret Pacsu, a friend, notices Gould's bathroom is stocked heavily with various pills, including Valium, Trifluoperazine and Librax. Gould laughs off the idea that he is taking all of the pills simultaneously, and Pacsu does not notice any effects on his personality. As his birthday approaches, Gould becomes concerned that no one will attend his funeral, despite being aware of strong record sales in Central Europe and Japan. Gould dies at age 50 of a stroke. His cousin, Jessie Greig, says Gould was wrong and his funeral was heavily attended. He had noted that Voyager I and Voyager II, space probes launched for possible contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, contain Bach's music as played by Gould.

In Los Angeles, Barry Egan is a bachelor who owns a company that markets themed toilet plungers and other novelty items. He has seven overbearing sisters who regularly ridicule and emotionally abuse him, and he leads a lonely life punctuated by fits of rage and social anxiety. One day, Barry witnesses an inexplicable car accident, picks up an abandoned harmonium from the street, and meets Lena Leonard, a co-worker of Elizabeth, one of his sisters. Lena had orchestrated the meeting after seeing him in Elizabeth's family picture at work. Barry attends his sister's birthday party, where they tease him about his sexuality, leading to a violent outburst in which he breaks sliding glass doors. Afterwards, he privately asks his brother-in-law to refer him to a therapist. At home, Barry calls a phone sex line to cope with his loneliness. The phone sex operator tries to extort money from him and then sends four henchmen, who are brothers, to collect. This complicates his budding relationship with Lena, as well as his plan to exploit a loophole in a Healthy Choice promotion and amass a million frequent-flyer miles by purchasing large quantities of pudding. When Lena leaves for Hawaii on a business trip, Barry decides to follow her. He uses his sister to find Lena, who is overjoyed to see him. As the two spend time together, Barry's sister calls Lena, who lies to her about being in contact with him. The romance develops further, leading to Barry's relief from his emotional isolation. On the return trip, the four brothers ram Barry's car, mildly injuring Lena. After fighting them off with a tire iron, Barry leaves her at the hospital and sets out to end the harassment. He calls the phone sex line back and discovers the "supervisor" is the owner of a mattress store. Barry drives all the way to Provo, Utah, to confront the owner, Dean, face to face. At first, trying to intimidate Barry, Dean finds him more intimidating once he learns that he has come all the way from California. They both agree "that's that". Returning home, Barry visits Lena to explain why the accident happened. He begs for forgiveness, pledging his loyalty and to use his frequent-flyer miles to accompany her on all future business trips after his pudding miles are processed. Lena confesses she was more upset at being left at the hospital, but forgives Barry and they embrace.

In the early 1980s, Jaime Escalante becomes a mathematics teacher at James A. Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. Latino students from working-class families have academic achievement far below their grade level. Students Angel and another gangster arrive late and question Escalante's authority. Escalante demonstrates how to multiply numbers using one's fingers and appeals to the students' sense of humor. After class, some gangsters threaten him. After school, he stops the gangsters from fighting. Escalante decides to teach the students algebra. At a meeting, he learns that the school's accreditation is under threat, as test scores are not high enough. He says that students will rise to the level that is expected of them and gives the students a quiz every morning. He instructs his class under the philosophy of ganas. Escalante tells other faculty that he wants to teach the students calculus, seeking to change the school culture to help the students excel in academics. Other teachers ridicule him, as the students have not taken the prerequisites. Escalante states that the students can take the prerequisites over the summer, setting a goal of having the students take Advanced Placement Calculus by their senior year. The students sign up for the prerequisites over the summer. In the fall, he gives them contracts to be signed by the parents; they must come in on Saturdays, show up an hour early to school, and stay until 5pm in order to prepare for the AP Calculus exam. Two weeks before the exam, Escalante teaches an ESL class when he suddenly clutches at his torso in pain, stumbles into the hallway, and falls. Escalante escapes from the hospital and shows up at school to continue teaching. After taking the AP calculus exam, the students head to the beach and celebrate. All 18 students who took the exam pass it. At a meeting to congratulate them, a plaque of appreciation is presented to Escalante. To the dismay of Escalante and the students, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) questions the students' exam scores. Escalante finds an anonymous letter of resignation in his school mail and walks home that evening, as his car has been stolen. Dismayed, he confides in his wife that he regrets having taught calculus because the students did well but nothing changed. Fabiola reassures him, stating that his students appreciate his efforts. Outside, students surprise him by fixing his car. Escalante meets with the investigators from ETS and offers to have the students retake the test. Despite having only one day to prepare, all the students pass, and Escalante demands that the original scores be reinstated. End captions indicate that in the summer of 1982, Escalante's entire class passed AP Calculus and in subsequent years, his program became even more successful.

Swedish efficiency researchers come to Norway to study Norwegian men, in an effort to help optimize their use of their kitchens. Folke Nilsson (Tomas Norström) is assigned to study the habits of Isak Bjørvik (Joachim Calmeyer). By the rules of the research institute, Folke has to sit on an umpire's chair in Isak's kitchen and observe him from there, but never talk to him. Isak volunteered for the program with the promise of a horse, but he only receives a dala horse, a little painted wooden statue. Isak stops using his kitchen and observes Folke through a hole in the ceiling instead. The two lonely men, observer and observed, slowly overcome the initial Norwegian-Swede and subject-observer distrust and become friends. Isak's friend Grant visits him often. Grant is a concentration camp survivor and feels Folke is stealing his friend. The friendship between Folke and Isak costs Folke his job during an inspection. He is forced to leave and drive up to the Swedish border, but then he returns, only to find Isak has died of a broken heart. Folke, now alone, occupies Isak's home and takes up Isak's friendship with Grant.

Growing up in Texas, Chris Kyle is taught by his father how to shoot a rifle and hunt deer. Years later, Chris has become a ranch hand and rodeo cowboy, and returns home early to find his girlfriend in bed with another man. After telling her to leave, he sees news coverage of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings and decides to enlist in the Navy. He qualifies for special training and becomes a sniper with the U.S. Navy SEALs. Chris meets Taya Studebaker at an Irish pub in San Diego, and the two soon marry. He is sent to the Iraq War after the September 11 attacks. His first kills are a woman and a boy who attacked U.S. Marines on patrol with a Russian-made RKG-3 anti-tank grenade. Chris is visibly upset by the experience, but later earns the nickname "Legend" for his many kills. Assigned to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Chris interrogates a family whose father offers to lead the SEALs to "The Butcher", al-Zarqawi's second-in-command. The plan goes awry when The Butcher captures the father and his son, killing them while a sniper pins down Chris. This sniper goes by the name Mustafa and is an Olympic Games medalist from Syria. Meanwhile, the insurgents issue a bounty on Chris. Chris returns home to his wife and the birth of his son. He is distracted by memories of his war experiences and by Taya's concern for them as a couple. She wishes he would focus on his home and family. Chris leaves for a second tour and is promoted to chief petty officer. Involved in a shootout with The Butcher, he helps kill him. Chris becomes increasingly distant from his family when he returns home to a newborn daughter. On Chris's third tour, Mustafa seriously injures a unit member, Ryan "Biggles" Job, and the unit is evacuated back to base. When they decide to return to the field and continue the mission, another SEAL, Marc Lee, is killed by gunfire. Guilt compels Chris to undertake a fourth tour, and Taya tells him she may not be there when he returns. Back in Iraq, Chris is shocked to learn Biggles died in surgery to repair the wounds he sustained. Assigned to kill Mustafa, who has been sniping U.S. Army combat engineers building a barricade, Chris's sniper team is placed on a rooftop inside enemy territory. Chris spots Mustafa and takes him out with a risky long-distance shot at 2,100 yards (1,920 m), but this exposes his team's position to numerous armed insurgents. Amid the gunfight and low on ammunition, Chris tearfully calls Taya and tells her he is ready to come home. A sandstorm provides concealment for a chaotic escape in which he is injured and almost left behind. After Chris gets back stateside, on edge and unable to adjust fully to civilian life, a Veterans Affairs psychiatrist asks if he is haunted by all the things he did in war. When he replies that "all the guys couldn't save" haunt him, the psychiatrist encourages him to help severely wounded veterans in the VA hospital. After that, Chris gradually begins to adjust to home life. Years later, on February 2, 2013, Chris says goodbye to his wife and family as he leaves in good spirits to spend time with Eddie Ray Routh, a veteran suffering from PTSD, at a shooting range. An on-screen subtitle reveals that Chris was killed that day by Routh, followed by archive footage of crowds standing along the highway for his funeral procession. More are shown attending his memorial service.

Xavier, a 24-year-old economics graduate student from Paris, attends the Erasmus Programme in Barcelona to further his career, against the wishes of his girlfriend Martine. On the flight, Xavier meets a married couple from France, a doctor named Jean-Michel and his wife Anne-Sophie. They invite him to stay in their home while he looks for somewhere to live. Xavier eventually finds a flatshare with students from England, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany and Denmark. The roommates develop a companionship as they struggle with their different languages and cultures. Martine visits Xavier and returns disappointed when she realizes things are not the same. Xavier begins an affair with Anne-Sophie, using seduction tips learned from Isabelle, his lesbian roommate from Belgium. William arrives from England to visit his sister Wendy and creates tension with his abrasive manner and culturally insensitive comments. Xavier becomes depressed and hallucinates after Martine breaks up with him. He seeks Jean-Michel's advice, but he tells Xavier that his wife has confessed everything, and tells him to stop seeing her. Discord divides the roommates, but they come together to aid Wendy, who was nearly caught by her boyfriend Alistair in a sexual encounter with an American man. After saying goodbye to his new close friends, Xavier returns to Paris and gets his desired job at the ministry, but realizes that his experiences in Spain have changed him. He subsequently runs away on his first day on the job and pursues his dream to become a writer, recounting the story of his experiences in the Auberge Espagnole. Towards the end, Xavier can be seen getting together with his now ex-girlfriend Martine as well.