In this tense political thriller, director Costa-Gavras (Z; Missing) explores the scourge of racial hatred. After a liberal radio talk-show host is murdered, the FBI dispatches agent Debra Winger to go undercover as a combine operator in a rural Midwest farming community, which appears to be the center for the white-supremacist group that gunned down the talk-show host. A local farmer/widower (Tom Berenger) with two children takes a liking to Winger, who regularly flies back to Chicago to update her progress with her superiors. But now she has a major emotional dilemma: the investigation is leading her to the inescapable fact that "kindly" Berenger--with whom she has developed a strong romantic attachment--is the most virulent and dangerous racist of them all. John Heard plays Winger's FBI contact and former lover.
