Keira Knightley leads a star-studded cast in this true-story thriller about Katharine Gun, the British secret service whistleblower who tried to stop the Iraq War.

In 2003, on the eve of the UK-US invasion of Iraq, government contract worker Katharine Gun (Knightley) intercepted communications that revealed the UK was being asked to spy on UN Security Council Members to help influence votes sanctioning the invasion. Knowing full well her legal responsibilities as an employee, Gun weighed up her duty as one trusted with national security, but also the risks to her own family’s security (her husband was a Muslim immigrant awaiting permanent residency status) and decided she must release this information for the national good. Charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act, and facing imprisonment, Katharine and her lawyers set out to defend her actions. With her life, liberty and marriage threatened, she must stand up for what she believes in…

As a government employee, is it ever right to leak state secrets? When should an individual decide if this is in the national interest? These are the almost impossible questions at the heart of this tense political drama that sees Knightley bring both a refreshing lack of self-consciousness and an urgency to her role, alongside a strong ensemble including Matt Smith and Ralph Fiennes.

---