Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) leads a secret drone mission to capture a terrorist group living in a safe house in Nairobi, Kenya. When Powell learns that the group plans to carry out a suicide attack, her objective is changed to kill the terrorists.
Drone pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) targets the safe house for destruction but reports a nine-year-old girl entering the kill zone. Powell contacts politicians and lawyers to determine whether or not to take action.