"Sir Robert Chiltern" (Jeremy Northam) is a British cabinet minister with a secret! He is determined that it remain exactly that - from his wife (Cate Blanchett) and from his political masters. Perhaps not too shrewdly, he turns to his rather underwhelming pal "Lord Goring" (Rupert Everett) whom he knows is well acquainted with his new found nemesis "Mrs. Cheveley" (Julianne Moore). With a parliamentary debate fast looming, and "Sir Robert" - in his role as a junior minister having a crucial role in a substantial government investment in Argentina - having to endorse or not, he finds himself in...