The film opens in Lahore with Anse Rainier (Gary Richardson), an American professor at Lahore University, kidnapped on his way home from seeing a movie. The following day, the kidnappers send a video tape, in which they demand the release of 690 detainees from a Muslim concentration camp in Kot Lakhpat and 700,000 for the children of Waziristan in exchange for Rainier's life. An American journalist and undercover CIA informant in Pakistan, Bobby Lincoln (Liev Schreiber), arranges to interview one of Rainier's colleagues at Lahore University, Changez Khan (Riz Ahmed), who is suspected of being involved in the kidnapping, in a cafe in Lahore.Set back in 2000, Changez, the son of a famous poet (Om Puri) and housewife (Shabana Azmi), lives a privileged life in Lahore. Changez wins a scholarship to Princeton University. From there, he gains a training contract at a top Wall Street valuation firm, Underwood Samson. Before beginning employment, Changez takes a vacation to Greece, where he meets and falls in love with an American photographer, Erica (Kate Hudson), who mourns the death of her boyfriend. Their relationship develops on Changez's return to the USA, where he becomes a high-flying employee under his boss Jim Cross (Kiefer Sutherland).Changez is away in Manila on business when the World Trade Center attacks take place, and on return to the USA finds himself a figure of automatic suspicion, being strip-searched on arrival in New York. Gradually his positive attitude towards America begins to change. Despite sleeping with Erica, their relationship further deteriorates as she fails to move on from her boyfriend's death.During a business visit to Istanbul Changez values a publisher, and finds it worth no money. He discovers that the publisher published translations of his father's poems in Turkish. He cannot bring himself to only look at the money, and resigns from Underwood Samson. He returns to New York and has a last meeting with Erica. Changez returns to Lahore. He begins lecturing at Lahore University, where he voices his dissatisfaction with the US's interference in Pakistan and also meets suspected Al-Qaida members, causing the US to raid his house and threaten members of his family.Fast forward to the present day, both Bobby and Changez are under pressure from the CIA and protestors outside the cafe, leading the CIA to move in. Changez reveals that despite his opposition to the US he refused to join Al-Qaida as his anti-US sentiment does not define him; Bobby in turn admits that Rainier was a CIA officer. As the protests in Lahore grow more violent, Changez suggests a butcher's shop where Rainier may have been taken.Tensions and suspicions escalate as the protesters grow further enraged and Bobby becomes suspicious of Changez, who is sending tense text messages on his cellphone. The CIA inform Bobby that Rainier is, in fact, already dead, leading him to drag Changez out of the cafe at gunpoint. As Changez appeals for calm from the protestors, Bobby accidentally shoots and kills Sameer (Imaad Shah), one of Changez's militant students. As the CIA extract Bobby, they reveal to Bobby both that Rainier had died earlier that day and that Changez had already offered to work with the CIA - the text messages he sent were to his sister, Bina (Meesha Shafi).Changez delivers a eulogy at Sameer's funeral as Bobby recuperates in hospital, recalling Changez's words - "Looks can be deceiving. I am a lover of America." The film ends with the note.