Set in the fall of 2004, the player takes on the role of Sam Fisher, a long-dormant secret agent called back to duty by the American National Security Agency, to work with a secret division dubbed "Third Echelon". At this point, Fisher hasn't "been in the field in years". Fisher must investigate the disappearance of two CIA agents in the country of Georgia, which soon leads to a larger mission: saving the world from war with Georgia.