In a dystopian future where bureaucracy reigns supreme, low-level government employee Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring dream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. When he investigates a case that led to the wrongful arrest and death of an innocent man instead of a wanted terrorist, he meets the woman from his dreams, and in trying to help her, gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy, and lies.