Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is drafted against her will to become a sparrow, a trained seductress in the Russian security service. Dominika learns to use her body as a weapon, but struggles to maintain her sense of self during the dehumanizing training process. Finding her power in an unfair system, she emerges as one of the program's strongest assets. Her first target is Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), a CIA officer who handles the agency's most sensitive infiltration of Russian intelligence. The two young operatives fall into a spiral of attraction and deception, which threatens their careers, allegiances and the security of both countries.