The opening of Night Agent shows a mother and child boarding a train. As the train nears capacity, he gets up to offer them his seat. As he gets to his feet, he sees a stranger in a black jacket and sweatshirt leaving a bag behind. He approaches the bag and opens it, discovering a bomb inside.

The train comes to a halt as he pulls the emergency door release. He produces an FBI badge and calmly directs the riders to the train's exit. Bomb alert! Someone yells, and chaos ensues. The vast majority of passengers disembark the train before the device detonates.

As police and medics arrive, the FBI agent learns that a fatality has occurred. As our hero receives medical attention, he spots the bomber hiding in the crowd and watches him.

An encounter between the agent and the stranger breaks out in the alleys. During the fight, the agent notices the man has a serpent tattoo on his side. Though he attempts an arrest, the culprit manages to evade capture once more. The FBI agent is hurt when struck by a vehicle while pursuing the suspect, who escapes again.

In another part of the world, a young woman named Rose is preparing to give her first TED talk. She is a major player in the world of cyber security. Some funding paperwork is given to her by another woman. They are happy at the prospect of realizing a mutual objective.

Next, we jump ahead in time for a whole year. Here, we discover the FBI agent's name is Peter and that he will be doing his shift at the White House. As he walks in the door, his boss Diana Farr calls him in for a meeting. She is upset with how he handles himself when confronted by the mysterious Elliot Rome, who accuses him of being the bomber a year ago.

Farr advises him to stop responding to Elliot Rome's ambush interviews with a response in the future. She brings up their agreement and how he has to wait out his time as a night agent before moving on to something greater. She notifies him that she will soon be moving to Maryland and begs him to annotate a few documents before leaving. He expresses his appreciation and departs.

While walking to his office, he runs into Ben Almora, who tells him that the President is excited to play pickup basketball with them later that day. Ben says that the President is probably wondering why Peter is still working for the FBI instead of for the secret service. Peter and the other man, Hawkins, are with another man who inquires about a criminal report that Peter was to file.

Peter's explanation does not amuse Hawkins, and he maintains that the report was "need to know." He is not happy that Peter is answering to the President's Chief of Staff, Farr. Peter, he says, should be cautious while choosing a side. Peter enters his office, a windowless room with only a phone and a table, and begins to complete some paperwork.

Night agent is now streaming on Netflix.