In the Line of Fire is a 1993 American political action thriller film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich and Rene Russo. Written by Jeff Maguire, the film is about a disillusioned and obsessed former CIA agent who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States and the Secret Service agent who tracks him. Eastwood's character is the sole active-duty Secret Service agent who is still remaining from the detail that had guarded John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, at the time of his assassination in 1963. The film also stars Dylan McDermott, Gary Cole, John Mahoney, and Fred Dalton Thompson.

Plot

United States Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan learns, in a routine investigation, that a mysterious man who calls himself "Booth", an obvious reference to John Wilkes Booth (Abraham Lincoln's murderer), is planning to assassinate the President of the United States (unnamed in the film). Booth soon makes a phone call to Horrigan and reveals that he knows Horrigan's history: Horrigan was one of President Kennedy's bodyguards, but failed to protect JFK on the day of his assassination. Obsessed with his failure and tormented by feelings of guilt, Horrigan has become a cynical, loveless alcoholic, but now he requests to be assigned to protect the current President. His co-worker is the playful-but-businesslike Lily Raines.