Following the discovery that a U.S. ambassador is selling classified intelligence to a Colombian cartel, Shepherd devises a plan to catch him that will push Keaton's moral code to the brink. Keaton brings a new member onto the team.

After a bomb explodes in Jersey City, the Cointel team captures a key planner, Sam Fathi, who can lead them to Tal, the mastermind behind the bombing. When Sam proves difficult to break, Shepherd convinces Keaton to detain a former Egyptian intelligence officer to help, leading to an urgent mission to stop another bomb from going off.

After a major Tal operative escapes CIA custody, Shepherd returns to Langley to help track the fugitive down. Shepherd and Keaton discover the CIA is withholding vital information on Tal, so they spy on the CIA to find out what the agency knows.

Keaton and his team are able to intervene and stop the assassination of a high-profile congresswoman; Shepherd interrogates the congresswoman, who had previously used Shepherd's treason conviction as a launching pad for her political career.