Post 9/11, Maya (Jessica Chastain) is a CIA agent on the hunt for the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden. After an intense interrogation with a possible Bin Laden follower at a CIA black site, she and her colleagues are left at a dead end. When she reviews past interrogations and discovers that Bin Laden uses a network of messengers to operate, she learns of an Abu Ahmed, apparently an important man working for Bin Laden. Later, fellow CIA operative Jessica (Jennifer Ehle) tells Maya of a mole working in Bin Laden circles. Jessica arranges to meet him in an American camp in Afghanistan to get information. The meeting goes horribly wrong when the party arrives, and suicide bombs the place, killing Jessica. Distraught, Maya is determined more than ever to capture Bin Laden. She learns about Ibrahim Sayeed, and deduces that he could well be Abu Ahmed. After phone taps, she learns of the location of a huge security-filled compound that could be the hiding place of Bin Laden. With this theory, she pulls out the stops and presents her evidence to the CIA director, to approve a black op mission. With elite seals in place, Maya oversees the mission. Three choppers head for the compound and sweep each room with deadly precision. They shoot and positively identify a body as Osama Bin Laden. They take the body back to camp. Maya sees the body. After a decade-long hunt, she is filled with emotion and cries.
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Best part of story, including ending:
It is a slow yet rewarding game of cat and mouse, with lots of intricate details.
Best scene in story:
When Maya argues with a high-up CIA officer, pleading her case for a highly-risky mission.
Opinion about the main character:
She is a determined, no-nonsense risk taker who is good at her job.
