Retired CIA field agent Bryan Mills attempts to build a closer relationship with his 17-year-old daughter Kim, who lives with her mother Lenore and her wealthy stepfather Stuart. While overseeing security at a concert for pop star Sheerah, Bryan saves the musician from an armed attacker. Out of gratitude, Sheerah offers to have Kim assessed as a singer. Before Bryan can tell her about the offer, Kim asks her father for permission to travel to Paris with her best friend Amanda. As he's wary about Kim's safety since she wants to go on without him, he initially refuses, but eventually gives in to her demands. At the airport, Bryan learns the girls are actually planning to follow U2 during their Vertigo Tour.

In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.