Based on the true events of 1995, when Englishman Nick Leeson (Ewan Mc Gregor) caused the downfall of Baring Banks through his siphoning of funds, which he had injudiciously traded on the Singapore International Money Exchange. The film follows Leeson, the son of a Watford plasterer, as he establishes himself within the higher echelons of Barings, & his subsequent flight to Indonesia with his wife Lisa (Anna Friel), with the authorities on his tail.