Tall, blonde and blue-eyed, it is impossible not to notice Isak Borg, First Secretary to the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang. As a diplomat, he is under constant surveillance and strongly discouraged from interacting with the locals. Despite this, he secretly dates Bok-joo, a local traffic officer, but when one last effort to extend his stay is rejected, Isak begs her to come back to Stockholm with him. Bok-joo turns this idea down and abruptly disappears. Oblivious to the danger he is putting the woman he loves in, Isak asks Myeong-jun, his assigned interpreter, for help. When Myeong-jun refuses, a desperate Isak becomes increasingly suspicious of everyone.