THE INTERPRETER - Plot summary

Silvia Broome, a citizen of an African nation, works as an interpreter at the United Nations. During an emergency, the U.N. is evacuated. When Silvia returns after hours to pick up her music case, she hears a plot to assassinate Zuwanie, an African President. With the words "The Teacher will never leave this room alive" said in Ku (a language a few people know), Silvia's life is in danger. Tobin Keller is an F.B.I. agent assigned to investigate. Agent Keller suspects she may somehow be involved in the conspiracy.

While the African leader is giving his speech to the General Assembly, an assassin in a booth attempts to shoot him. Keller and the other agents spot him, and he is shot dead before firing his weapon. However, the assassination plot was phony and planned by the corrupt African leader and his allies to get world sympathy and win political support. The hired 'assassin' was dying of AIDS and was only doing this to get money for his family. Just before all this is revealed, the African leader was rushed to a safe room and locked inside alone. Silvia, who has been hiding inside the room, wants to kill him. His political regime was responsible for the death of her parents, sister, and brother. Agent Keller gets into the room and persuades Silvia not to shoot the leader, and she surrenders. Afterwards, Silvia is not charged with any crime, but she is deported to Africa.