The series opens with Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier, working as the night manager at a luxury hotel in Cairo during the Arab Spring. His quiet life is shattered when a seductive guest, Sophie Alekan, entrusts him with confidential documents detailing illegal arms deals involving a powerful international businessman, Richard Roper. Pine passes the documents to a contact at the British embassy, but this act leads to Sophie’s brutal murder, an event that haunts him and fuels a deep desire for revenge.
Years later, Pine is managing a remote hotel in the Swiss Alps. He is approached by Angela Burr, an intelligence operative working for the UK’s Foreign Office. She is running an unauthorized, off-the-books investigation into Richard Roper, whom she believes to be the “worst man in the world,” trafficking in chemical weapons and destabilizing nations for profit. Burr recruits Pine to infiltrate Roper’s inner circle, leveraging his hotel expertise and his personal vendetta.
To get close to Roper, Pine assumes a new identity, that of a former army officer turned luxury security consultant. He expertly inserts himself into Roper’s world, first by saving the life of Roper’s son and then by being hired to manage security for Roper’s operations. Pine moves into Roper’s lavish compound in Mallorca, a world of extreme wealth and moral decay, where he must constantly balance gaining trust with maintaining his cover.
Living undercover, Pine navigates a dangerous web. He forms a complex relationship with Roper’s charismatic yet deeply cynical girlfriend, Jed Marshall, which blurs the lines between manipulation and genuine feeling. Simultaneously, he must evade the suspicions of Roper’s vicious and astute chief of security, Major Lance “Corky” Corkoran, who instinctively distrusts the new arrival.
Pine’s mission becomes a tense game of cat and mouse. He secretly gathers evidence on Roper’s next major weapons deal while feeding information back to Angela Burr, who is fighting her own political battles in London. Burr faces relentless opposition and sabotage from within her own government, where powerful figures are secretly in Roper’s pocket and are determined to protect his lucrative trade.
The operation reaches its climax during a covert transaction at a luxury hotel in Istanbul. Pine’s cover is nearly blown, leading to a violent and chaotic confrontation. He must use all his skills to survive, protect Jed, and secure the evidence that could finally bring Roper to justice. In the end, while a major deal is thwarted, the complete victory is ambiguous. Roper’s empire is shaken but not destroyed, and the corrupt systems that enable him remain largely intact. Pine, however, finds a form of personal redemption and a chance at a new life, forever changed by the darkness he has faced.