Despite his reservations, Mason ventures back to the foreign locale with little information on his assignment, only to learn that he has specifically been requested to cool down a terrorist hostage situation with the same group that killed his wife years earlier.

Things become even more personal for Mason when he learns that one of the hostages, Karim, is an associate of his who was present on the day that his wife was killed. As Beirut continues building to an explosive climax, the film delicately balances international diplomacy, terrorism, and American intervention, all in a film with such tightly-wound pacing, you may have to pause and do some cardio halfway through to calm yourself down.