The year is 1991, and Archer is taking his son Michael for a ride on a carousel. Nearby,
criminal Castor sets up a suppressed sniper rifle and once he gets a clean shot, he fires. The
bullet hits Archer in the back, goes through him, and hits Michael on the head. Father and son fall
to the ground, and a devastated Archer clings to his dying son while Castor is in shock over
having killed a child. Six years later, Archer is in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office and
has never stopped pursuing Castor, who turns out to be a career terrorist. Currently, Castor is
pretending to be a minister to sneak into the Los Angeles Convention Center, where he assembles and
activates a huge bomb, which will blow out in a few days. At the FBI office, Archer is informed
that Castor's brother Pollux just chartered a jet at a local airfield, so Archer immediately orders
Tito to get an undercover agent planted on the plane because Pullx never flies without Castor. At
the local airfield, Pollux and his henchmen meet with Castor and board the plane, where they are
greeted by an undercover agent posing as a flight attendant. When the plane is about to take off,
the pilot suddenly sees a truck on the runway coming towards them at the same time that Pollux
notices multiple police cars plus a helicopter. At that moment, the undercover agent takes out
her gun and points it at Castor, but Pollux throws his briefcase at her and begins beating her up.
Then Castor threatens the pilot and orders him to fly the plane. Archer continues to chase after
the plane in his truck, and for a moment it looks like both vehicles will collide, but at the last
second he manages to make an u-turn. Suddenly the plane door opens and Castor pushes the agent out,
killing her with a shot. Archer immediately stops the truck and jumps into the helicopter,
which causes Castor to threaten the pilot into taking off. However Archer keeps hitting the plane
with the helicopter, and the pilot fails to pull back, so the flaps break off completely. Castor
fires at the helicopter to make it back off, but Archer responds by shooting the left engines,
which makes them blow up. At that moment Castor kills the pilot and takes over the controls,
but he has to dive for cover before the plane crashes through the hanger with a huge explosion.
Afterward, Archer joins his fellow agents in a chaotic firefight against Castor and Pollux. Many
agents lose their lives in the process, although one of them only loses his ear. The agents keep on
firing as they chase the brothers deeper into the hangar and Archer shoots at a pipe so the bursting
water causes the siblings to split. This allows two agents to attack Pollux and finally arrest
him. Castor sees Pollux has been arrested and is calling for his help, but he ignores him and
goes deeper into the hangar while Archer follows him. Suddenly Archer hears Castor reloading his
pistol and notices another agent in the line of fire, but by the time he shouts a warning it’s
too late. Castor kills the agent, causing Archer to fire in return. Both men exchange a few shots
as they try to keep cover, and when another agent tries to help, Archer tackles him to the ground
right before Castor can hit him too. Then Archer shoots back and they keep on firing until they
run out of ammo. Both men rush to reload their weapons and soon the firefight restarts. After
jumping around using chains and ramps, Archer surprises Castor from behind and captures him,
but Castor only laughs and dares Archer to shoot him. They both stand up and get stuck in a Mexican
standoff, so Castor uses the chance to brag about his bomb, but Archer believes he is bluffing. Then
Castor makes inappropriate comments about Archer’s daughter and tries to shoot, only to discover he’s
out of ammo again. He falls to his knees and breaks down, but it’s actually an act to grab
a knife from his pocket. Suddenly he stands up, knife ready to stab, but Archer kicks Castor's
hand and pushes him into a working turbine that sends Castor flying until he hits a ventilation
grate and falls, seemingly dead. Afterward, Archer returns home, although his family situation isn’t
the best. His daughter Jamie gets in trouble a lot as she tries to find herself, and his relationship
with his wife Eve is very cold and distant because Archer spends too much time working on catching
Castor. Since he’s finally caught him, Archer promises Eve that he will ask his boss to give
him a desk job. The next day, the entire office congratulates Archer, however he reminds everyone
they need to remember the fallen agents too. Afterward, Archer declares the Castor case closed
on his pc. He is interrupted when agents Tito and Miller come with a disk they found in Pollux's
briefcase. They insert it into the computer and a strange animation appears on the screen before it
reveals the schematics of the bomb, which Archer identifies as a biological weapon. Archer realizes
Castor hadn’t been bluffing, but getting more information is almost impossible because Pollux
will only talk about it with Castor. They attempt to interrogate Pollux about it, but they fail
because Pollux can fool the polygraph. Desperate for a solution, Miller takes Archer to the Walsh
Institute, a medical institution that specializes in advanced operations. There Archer is shocked to
discover that Castor is still alive and in a coma, which Miller proves by stubbing out her cigarette
on Castor's skin. The institute's director Doctor Walsh and Miller then share an idea:
they would like Archer to take Castor's face and go into prison posing as Castor to extract
information from Pollux. Archer is skeptical that face swap can be a thing, so Walsh takes him to
the operation room, where lasers are constructing a new earlobe for the wounded agent. He also shows
Archer the morphogenetic template, the inside of which is modeled on Archer's skull but has
an exterior modeled to resemble Castor's face, meaning he won't feel any different at all.
However Archer finds the whole plan insane and leaves. Afterward Archer decides to try
interrogating some of Castor's partners in crime. He’s so angry that he pushes the first two guys
too far and makes one of them wet his pants. Next he tries to talk to Castor’s girlfriend Sasha,
who claims that she hasn't seen Castor in years, so Archer moves onto Sasha's brother Dietrich,
who gets tired of all the questions and insults Archer’s dead son to provoke him. Furious,
Archer tackles Dietrich to the floor and jams his pistol into Dietrich's eye until he admits
that all he knows is that the bomb goes off in a week. After Sasha and Dietrich leave,
Archer meets with Tito and Miller and accepts to do the face swap. He wants to tell his boss and
Eve about it, but Miller forbids it because this is classified and off-the-books. Archer decides to
stop by his house to say goodbye to his family, saying he has a mission without giving details,
making Eve angry because he lied about getting a desk job. Later Archer goes to the Walsh Institute
and before the surgery, he gives Tito his wedding ring for safekeeping. He also makes Walsh promise
he’ll restore the bullet wound scar on his chest after the mission is over because he doesn’t want
to forget the day Michael died. Then the surgery begins: Walsh very carefully takes their faces and
while Archer’s is put away for safety, Castor’s is connected to Archer’s body while Castor himself is
left with exposed muscle. A few days later, Archer wakes up and once his bandages are unwrapped,
he freaks out as soon as he sees Castor's face in the mirror, even trying to destroy it with a
coat hanger. Miller and Tito immediately give him a sedative to calm him down. Then Archer
notices that his voice hasn't changed, but Walsh quickly solves this by implanting a microchip in
Archer's larynx that makes him sound like Castor. Sometime later, a bunch of guards come to pick
Archer up to take him to prison in a helicopter, but he’s blindfolded first. When the blindfold is
finally removed, Archer finds himself in a dark room being watched by several guards. Warden
Walton explains that Archer’s now property of the prison and his feet are clamped in magnetic boots
that allow the guards to monitor the location of every prisoner 24/7 and can keep him glued
to the floor. Afterward Archer is taken to the cafeteria, where the other inmates stare at him.
At that moment Archer sees Pollux, but before he can approach him, he’s suddenly attacked by Dubov,
a criminal that wants revenge on the real Castor. Dubov begins beating Archer up pretty badly,
but after taking a moment to catch his breath, Archer fights back and gets the upper hand because
he realizes that being Castor allows him to go crazy. When the fight is over, Archer's magnetic
boots are clamped to the floor and Walton uses a stun gun on him before warning Dubov of the
consequences of trying this again. Meanwhile in the Walsh Institute, the real Castor suddenly
wakes up and immediately pulls off the bandages to discover he has no face. Confused and in pain, he
goes to the edge of the room and sees Archer's old face floating in a jar, so he calls his henchmen
to help him out. Moments later, the henchmen kidnap Walsh and bring him over, where Castor
goes crazy and threatens Walsh until he accepts to give him Archer’s face. Back in the prison, Archer
finally manages to approach Pollux and manages to get all the information about the bomb. Later,
a guard tells him he has a visitor and Archer is taken to the initial room. To Archer’s surprise,
Castor appears wearing Archer's real face and shows him a newspaper article about a recent fire
that destroyed the institute and killed Walsh plus his two “technicians”. This makes Archer imagine
how Castor’s henchmen tied up and gagged Walsh, Miller, and Tito, then covered them with gasoline
before starting the fire that killed them. Castor also reveals he’s wearing Archer's wedding ring
while explaining that he’s destroyed any evidence that Archer could use to prove who he is. His plan
now includes taking over Archer’s job and doing the nasty with Eve, which makes Archer furious.
He tries to hurt Castor only to be stopped by the guards while Castor leaves. Afterward, Castor
goes to Archer’s house, and he almost misses the address if he hadn’t been for Eve waiting outside.
After Eve leaves for her job at the hospital, Castor goes inside and looks around until he
finds Eve's diary, through which he learns Eve and Archer haven’t been naughty in over two months.
Suddenly he hears music and follows the noise to find Jamie in her room smoking a cigarette. Castor
stares at her in a creepy way and Jamie gets angry because her “dad” is invading her privacy,
but when she tries to slam the door, Castor forces his way in and takes a cigarette from her,
which leaves Jamie in shock. Back in the prison, Archer learns that Castor has cut a deal with
Pollux and he’s getting released. Pollux is taken to the FBI office, where Castor treats him to a
gourmet meal. The other agents are surprised by who they think is Archer’s behavior because he
keeps shrugging people off when they offer their condolences over Tito’s death and making a deal
with a lowlife like Pollux isn’t his style. After everyone leaves, Castor enters the interrogation
room and turns off the microphone while reminding Pollux that he's supposed to be snitching. Castor
proposes that Pollux should confess to the location of the bomb so Castor can become
a hero. Once Pollux tells them all about the bomb, the police rush to the Convention Center
and evacuate the building. Castor comes too and watches the bomb squad technicians trying to
disarm the bomb with only one minute and fifteen on the clock. The techs explain that the codes are
protected by a tamper switch that will take them several hours to bypass, so Castor kicks them all
out. Once he’s alone, he proceeds to use the codes and deactivates the bomb in seconds. As predicted,
Castor becomes the hero of the city, which Archer sees on the news. Everyone at the office
showers Castor with praise, and unlike the real Archer, he gladly receives all the compliments.
Later that night, Castor surprises Eve with a romantic dinner and they get intimate. In prison,
a desperate Archer realizes that the only way to stop Castor is to break out, so he asks another
inmate for information, learning that he can only get his boots off if he is taken to the clinic to
get shock treatment. At that moment Archer sees a guard pulling out a pack of cigarettes and gets
an idea. He walks over to the officer to demand a cigarette, and when the guard orders him to get
back in line, Archer punches him. This triggers a fight with several other guards, during which
Archer manages to steal a cigarette. Eventually the guards grab him and drag him to the clinic,
where Dubov is getting shock therapy after he started another fight. When they're done
with Dubov, they pull him out and replace him with Archer. He convinces Walton to light the cigarette
for him, and while they are securing him, Archer provokes Dubov by mentioning his family is waiting
for him. Suddenly Dubov attacks Walton, and while the guards go after him, Archer breaks
free of the chair by burning his captor with the cigarette. After punching the guards around them,
Archer steals a gun and shoots the men approaching them from the catwalks. The elevator doors open
and more guards appear, so they shove a stretcher into them, disarming them. Next Archer grabs a
bottle of sulfuric acid and throws it upwards before shooting it, causing a small explosion.
Archer and Dubov then jump up to the catwalk and start running, shooting any guard that gets
in their way as a riot breaks out in the exercise hall. Eventually they make it to the control room,
and Dubov continues to fight all the guards while Archer sits at the computer and overloads
the security system. Dubov gets shot and falls over the edge so Archer rushes to grab him by
the barrel of his gun. He tries to pull him up, but Dubov’s grip slips and he falls to his death.
Walton fires up at Archer, but he’s stopped when a bunch of inmates begin beating him up. Afterward,
Archer makes his way to the roof, where he discovers that the prison is an offshore
oil platform. At that moment a helicopter appears and Archer jumps off the platform
as the gunner opens fire. Archer lands on the next deck as the helicopter chases after him,
and when Archer gets behind some oil cans, a stray bullet causes a spark that lights Archer's feet on
fire. He quickly removes his socks before jumping into the ocean, and since he doesn’t surface, the
pilots assume he’s dead. Meanwhile Eve is shocked to hear her husband has forgotten about Michael’s
birthday, and Castor is dragged to the cemetery to visit Michael’s grave. Later when he goes to
the office, he’s told that Archer escaped from prison and there’s no body, so Castor sends the
cops to find him. Back to Archer, he swims to the shore and steals a car from a valet parking lot,
then drives over to the hospital where Eve works. He makes a call from the car phone and tries to
warn Eve about Castor, but since he isn’t using his real voice, Eve thinks this is a bad prank
and hangs up. Next Archer calls the FBI office, but unfortunately the operator transfers him to
Castor, so he hangs up too. There are cops around looking for him, so Archer has to hide when he
sees a police car pass by. Next Archer decides to go to see Dietrich, who immediately invites
him to hang out with other criminals and some escorts. Dietrich also gives him Castor’s twin
pistols. Archer drinks some water, not knowing it’s been spiked. His body starts reacting badly
to the drink, so Archer rushes to the bathroom, where he looks in the mirror and points a gun at
his reflection. Archer tries to calm down only to be interrupted by Sasha, who proceeds to slap him
unconscious. Meanwhile Castor is in the middle of an angry phone call with Pollux when he suddenly
hears loud music. He looks through the window and sees Jamie's boyfriend trying to force himself on
her in his car. Castor immediately hangs up and runs outside to smash the window with his foot,
pull the boy out of the car, and beat him up before slamming his head against the roof
while ordering him to apologize. Afterward, Castor gives Jamie a knife for protection
and instructs her to stab any attacker in the thigh, twisting the blade. Back to Archer, he’s
now resting on a bed and wakes up when Sasha gets too affectionate. He accidentally calls her Eve,
but once he sees it isn’t his wife, he reaches for his gun. Sasha insists on trying to do the dirty,
and all this is seen by Pollux from across the street before he calls Castor to tell him about
it. Castor immediately sends an FBI team to the scene. Once Archer is finally able to get Sasha
off him, Sasha reveals her son Adam is there and confesses he’s Castor’s. Archer can’t help seeing
his own son in Adam and hugs the boy while calling him Michael, which makes a confused Sasha pull her
son away. At that moment, an FBI agent fires a smoke grenade that crashes through the bedroom
window. Archer quickly pulls Sasha and Adam to the ground as the SWAT team opens fire and
Dietrich together with the other criminals grab their weapons to fire back. Archer quickly grabs
Adam's headset so he can hear music instead of the weapons as SWAT officers burst into the apartment
and a vicious firefight begins. There’s chaos everywhere and Sasha steals a gun before she,
Archer, and Adam try to run away. However more agents burst in, so Dietrich takes Adam
to the room and Sasha helps the escorts escape while Archer personally goes after the agents
that keep coming. Hundreds of shots keep on being fired and both sides lose many lives.
An officer sees Adam and almost shoots him, but Archer pushes him away just in time. Then Archer
hands Adam over to Sasha, who rushes to the lobby. An agent tries to stop her, but she just kicks him
and runs away. The agent stands up to try again, only to be stopped by Archer, who removes the mask
and is shocked to see a friend from work. Dietrich is coming so Archer knocks his friend out and
shoots the ground to pretend to kill him. At that moment Castor shows up and aims his gun at Archer,
however he hears a noise and accidentally shoots at Sasha instead. Dietrich jumps in and the bullet
hits him in the neck, so he tells Sasha to run. By the time Archer gets to him, Dietrich is dead.
Then Archer grabs Dietrich's weapon and another gunfight against Castor ensues. A few more shots
are exchanged before both men end up on opposite sides of the same mirror, and after some banter,
they open fire at the same time. The glass shatters and Archer is hit on the side of
his body, but the men keep firing. At that moment an agent arrives and shoots at Archer too, so he
escapes through the stairway. On the roof, Archer finds Pollux and they try to escape by climbing.
Suddenly Archer grabs a crane cable and slams into Pollux, sending him crashing through the skylight.
Castor sees Archer and opens fire, making Archer flee. Then Castor notices Pollux is dead and
breaks down crying, making an agent wonder why he cries for a criminal. Furious, Castor shoots the
agent in the face. The next morning, the office boss comes in to argue with Castor about what
happened last night. Suddenly the man clutches his chest from palpitations, so Castor uses the chance
to tell him his real identity before knocking him down, then Castor punches him in the heart
until it stops completely. Next Castor calls his secretary, saying their boss had a heart attack.
Meanwhile Archer breaks into his own house and makes Eve freak out when she sees him. Archer
does her best to calm her down and explains the face swap, telling her to test her husband’s
blood type to confirm the story because Castor’s is different from Archer’s. Later that night,
while Castor is asleep, Eve quietly takes some of his blood, then sneaks out to go to
the hospital where she runs the tests and finally sees the truth. At that moment Archer shows up and
asks for help for the wounds he got during the gunfight, but Eve is still wary and pulls out
a gun. To prove his identity, Archer shares some stories of their dates and Eve finally believes
him. Eve takes care of Archer’s wounds and tells him tomorrow there’ll be a funeral for his boss.
In the morning Castor wakes up to an empty bed and immediately gets suspicious so he rushes to the
hospital, but by the time he arrives, Archer is already gone. Sometime later, the funeral
proceeds as normal. Once everyone is gone, Archer confronts Castor, who reveals his henchman has Eve
hostage. Suddenly Sasha and another henchman with Jamie show up too, getting everyone stuck in a
Mexican standoff. A gunfight ensues, and Sasha takes a bullet to save Archer. Before dying,
she begs him not to let Adam grow up to be a criminal. Castor and Archer engage in a battle
involving both guns and fists, with Archer soon gaining the upper hand. While they’re grabbing
each other, Jamie finds a gun and shoots at Archer because she doesn’t know of the switch, allowing
the real Castor to break free. Castor takes Jamie hostage and licks her face, but she stabs him in
the leg using the trick he taught her. Wounded, Castor shoots two agents before running away and
stealing a boat. Archer goes after him and steals another boat while Castor shoots the rent shop,
making it explode. A long chase ensues while the coast guard fires at them, but Castor shoots them
all and crashes Archer’s boat against theirs. Archer jumps on Castor’s boat to keep on fighting
him, but after a few weird moves, this boat also crashes and the men are thrown ashore. They engage
in a final hand-to-hand fight, and when Castor begins hurting Archer’s face, Archer kills him
with a spear gun. Later, Eve is able to explain the entire situation to the FBI, and Archer is
taken to the hospital to have his face restored. However he asks them not to give him back his
chest scar because now that Castor’s dead he can finally move on. Once Archer has his own face and
voice back, he comes home and to his family. After apologizing for being distant the past years,
he promises to do better and introduces them to Adam, who shall be adopted by them.