Documentarian Louis Theroux teams up with ex-Scientology official Marty Rathbun to stage re-enactments of alleged abuses within the organization, including violent behaviour by church leader David Miscavige at its secretive Gold Base facility in California. As a result, the Church of Scientology puts Theroux and his crew under surveillance, leading to confrontations with camera-toting pursuers and harassment campaigns that escalate into an absurd game of cat-and-mouse.