The Contractor 2007

James Jackson Dial, a retired CIA black-ops hitman, hides out on a Montana ranch while his past quietly simmers. When his former employer, Jeremy Collins, offers him a chance at redemption, Dial is drawn back into a high-stakes assignment that could either cleanse his record or confirm his fall from grace. Years earlier, Dial had come within seconds of taking down the notorious terrorist cell leader Ali Mahmoud Jahar, but a fatal lapse allowed Jahar to escape, leaving that mission branded as a failure.

Now Collins wants Dial to finish the job by assassinating Jahar, who has been captured and is under police custody in London. Dial is equipped with a safe house, passports, and an assistant, Terry Winchell, and travels to the city to complete unfinished business. Disguised as a priest, Dial takes up a position in a church bell tower across from the building where Jahar will be brought in. When Jahar is led out, his head is covered by a jacket, depriving Dial of a clean shot. Refusing to miss his mark, Dial waits with cold patience for the right moment.

From his high vantage point, Dial spots Jahar inside the building with his back to a window. He fires through the glass, striking Jahar in the back of the head. A delay—caused by a pair of cops—slows the response, and Winchell is late with the getaway car. The ensuing pursuit ends in a chaotic gunfight and car crash, claiming Winchell’s life. Wounded and bleeding, Dial escapes the wreck and makes his way back to the safe house.

There, he meets Emily Day, a curious 12-year-old neighbor who lives with her grandmother, Mrs. Day. Emily tends to Dial’s wounds, and her presence softens the jagged edge of his violent world. Yet the mission’s nominal success is hollow, because Collins’ people filmed Dial fleeing the scene, leaving the assignment technically a failure in their eyes.

Meanwhile, Collins faces an investigation in the United States for running a CIA hit squad, and if the truth about Dial—and the death of Chief Superintendent Andrew Windsor—emerges, Collins could be exposed. Inspector Annette Ballard closes in, chasing Dial through the avenues of law and retribution, while Dial fights to clear his name.

In a decisive turn, Dial eliminates Collins, saving Ballard’s life in the process. With Ballard’s trust earned, he bids a hopeful farewell to Emily, sending her a letter and two tickets to America so she and her grandmother can visit him at his Montana ranch and meet his horse, Beauty. The film closes on a quiet, open note: Emily and Dial at the ranch, watching Beauty run free, a symbol of new beginnings and a life beyond the shadows.