 Johnny Utah (Reeves) is a Special Agent for the FBI. Utah gets partnered with Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) an experienced agent who is more than committed to his work. The two are asked to investigate the number of robberies committed by a group called the Ex-Presidents, who wears masks of Presidents Reagen, Nixon, Carter and Johnson for their robberies. Pappas has a theory that the Ex-Presidents are a group of surfers, and asks for Utah to go undercover as a surfer. The problem is, Utah couldn t surf to save his life. That plus the two continuously being hassled by unpleasant and rough Agent Harp (McGinley). With the help of Tyler (Petty) a competent female surfer, Utah begins to gain the respect of local surfer Bodhi (Swayze) and his group. Utah forms a close bond with Bodhi, but the relationship between Utah and Bodhi becomes limited when Utah suspects that Bodhi and his group are the Ex-Presidents.