Early in 1996, three Republican campaign operatives take a job in secret assisting Boris Yeltsin's reelection. Once in Moscow, they find he's polling at 6 percent with the election a few months away. While Joe Shumate wants to go home, George Gorton and Dick Dresner vote to stay. First, they must get someone's attention; they succeed finally with Yeltsin's daughter. Then it's polling, focus groups, messages and spin. Even as Yeltsin's numbers go up, the trio are unsure who hired them and whether Yeltsin's allies have a different plan in mind than election victory. When the going gets toughest, it's Gorton who puts a spin on our stake: democracy and capitalism must win.

The film is based on actual events. While the film portrays all three consultants as being in Russia during the entire campaign, Gorton, Dresner and Shumate flew in and out of Russia during the five month period from February through July, 1996. Usually, two of the three were in Russia while the other was in the USA. This was a safety precaution, so if something went wrong in Russia, the member of the team in the US could get the other two out.

Joe Shumate:
I know what you're thinking.


George Gorton:
Do you? Then you're about to go f**k yourself.