The story is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story “Adjustment Team”, and features a smooth-talking congressman whose political future is thrown in doubt by uncontrollable events and the arrival of a mysterious woman in his life.

Matt Damon plays David Norris, a former Fordham University basketball player and charismatic United States Congressman who seems destined for national political stardom. He meets a beautiful modern dancer named Elise Sallas, played by Emily Blunt, only to find that strange circumstances keep them from becoming romantically involved. Norris discovers forces are at work to separate them, and he peels the layers to find out why. The action takes place in various places in Manhattan.