An idealistic FBI agent named Kate Macer gets enlisted by a government task force led by Matt Graver and Alejandro Gillick to help combat the escalating drug trade between the US and Mexico. As she works with the task force, Kate begins to question their illegal and questionable methods. She soon discovers that their true objective is not to bring down a cartel lieutenant, but to disrupt the drug operations to draw out the elusive cartel drug lord. Kate finds herself caught in a dangerous situation as she becomes entangled in the dark and violent world of the drug war.

The drug war on the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated as the cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the US border. To fight the war, federal agent Matt Graver re-teams with the mercurial Alejandro. A suicide bombing in a Kansas City retail shop kills fifteen people. The Mexican cartels control the border crossings completely. The US Border Patrol had apprehended several terrorists during crossings, who blew themselves up rather than allow themselves to be captured by US Authorities. Grave interrogates African pirate Bashir (Faysal Ahmed). Graver knows that the terrorists are from Yemen who crossed over from Mexico. So, the terrorists went from Yemen to Mexico via ship, as they could not fly in. He wants to know who paid Bashir not to attack the ship carrying the terrorists. Bashir confirms that the money came from cartel leader named Reymi. The United States government (represented by Secretary of Defense James Riley (Matthew Modine) & CIA Director Cynthia Foards (Catherine Keener)) responds by authorizing CIA agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to apply extreme measures to combat Mexican drug cartels, who are suspected of smuggling the terrorists across the border. Graver and the Department of Defense decide the best option is to instigate a war between the major cartels. Graver rules out killing the head of a cartel as that would split one cartel into 50. Graver says that to start a war, kidnaps a prince, and the King will start the war for you.

Rumoured to be in development.