A joint mission of the American FBI and the Russian MVD leads to the death of the younger brother of an Azerbaijani mobster (David Hayman). In retaliation, the mobster hires an enigmatic assassin known only by the pseudonym "The Jackal" (Bruce Willis) to kill an unseen target. Meanwhile, the MVD capture one of the mobster's henchmen. During interrogation by torture, the henchman reveals the name "Jackal." This coupled with the documents recovered from the henchman's briefcase lead the FBI and MVD to assume the target for the retaliatory hit is FBI Director Donald Brown (John Cunningham).


As the Jackal begins his preparations for the assassination — utilising a series of disguises and stolen IDs in the process — the FBI learns of one person who can identify him. FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston (Sidney Poitier) and Russian Police Major Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora) turn to a former Irish Republican Army sniper named Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), who had a relationship with a Basque terrorist named Isabella Zanconia (Mathilda May), who they believe can identify The Jackal. Mulqueen eventually agrees to help in exchange for their best efforts to get him released from prison.