Caught up in a deadly conspiracy

Based on the autobiography of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame, Fair Game offers a glimpse of what could go wrong if the US government betrayed one of its own agents.

Plame (Naomi Watts) discovers that Iraq does not have an active nuclear programme or 'weapons of mass destruction'.

Washington does not believe this, and sends her husband, retired ambassador Joe Wilson (Sean Penn), to Africa to investigate the sale of enriched uranium to Iraq. The material is used in making nuclear weapons. He finds no such evidence and writes an article for The New York Times outlining his findings and blasting the government for invading Iraq.

After the story is published, Plame's identity is revealed, putting her and her contacts in serious danger. She is featured in newspapers and TV reports as she struggles to restore her reputation amid death threats.

Soon Plame and her husband find themselves at the centre of a massive government conspiracy that threatens their lives and could tear the nation apart.

'Here was a woman who led a secret life for a long time,' says co-producer Jerry Zucker. 'Her most intimate friends thought she was a venture capitalist. Suddenly she is thrust into the spotlight and revealed as a spy, forced to speak out publicly and defend her life.'

Zucker says it was a fascinating story from a political point of view. 'But the more we heard from Valerie and Joe about the effect this had on their marriage, the more we realised that here was a deeply personal human drama.'

If you strip away the politics, conspiracies and deadly weapons, you're left with an old-fashioned story about a couple trying to save their marriage.

Fair Game opens tomorrow