Jack (George Clooney), a gunsmith and contract killer, and his lover Ingrid (Irina Björklund) are relaxing in Sweden. Jack becomes alarmed by a single pair of footprints in the snow. Sniper gunshots ring out. Ingrid watches Jack pull a gun from his pocket. Jack shoots the approaching sniper. Jack knows his true identity is in jeopardy and he shoots and kills Ingrid.

He flees to Rome and contacts his handler Pavel (Johan Leysen). Pavel insists that Jack cannot stay in Rome, so he gives him the keys of a Fiat Tempra and sends him to Castelvecchio (a small town in the mountains of Abruzzo). Jack becomes nervous, and, disposing of the cell phone which Pavel had given him, goes to nearby Castel del Monte instead…