Throughout a mission inside Budapest to help intercept any courier earning a living for a individual code-named "Cobalt", IMF agent Trevor Hanaway will be killed by assassin Sabine Moreau. Hanaway's crew leader, Her Carter, and also newly marketed field agent Benji Dunn remove Ethan Look and Ethan's resource, Bogdan, from the Moscow prison. Ethan will be recruited to help lead Her and Benji to help infiltrate magic formula Moscow Kremlin racks and locate files discovering Cobalt. Throughout the mission, someone broadcasts through the IMF regularity, alerting the Russians to help Ethan's crew. Although Benji and also Jane get away, a an explosive device destroys an integral part of the Kremlin and also SVR agent Anatoly Sidorov busts Ethan, suspecting him as a key player inside attack. The IMF removes Ethan coming from Moscow. Italy considers the attack a undeclared react of war, and the U. S. President sets off "Ghost Protocol", any black operations contingency in which disavows the IMF. Ethan and also his crew are to take the blame with the attack although will be permitted to escape coming from government custody as a way to track down Cobalt. Ahead of Ethan may escape, the IMF Admin is mortally wounded by European security makes led by Sidorov, leaving Look and learning ability analyst Bill Brandt to find their own way to avoid. Brandt pinpoints Cobalt as Kurt Hendricks, a Swedish-born European nuclear strategist which plans to start a nuclear war. Hendricks bombed the Kremlin as a way to acquire any Russian nuclear launch-control product; however, he right now needs the activation codes on the Budapest courier as a way to launch nuclear missiles at north america. The change between Moreau and also Hendricks' right-hand man, Wistrom, is a result of take place on the Burj Khalifa inside Dubai. Presently there, Ethan's associates separately persuade Moreau and also Hendricks' right-hand-man, Wistrom, they have made the exchange against each other. However, Moreau pinpoints Brandt as a possible agent. While Ethan chases Wistrom—only to comprehend that Wistrom is really Hendricks inside disguise, escaping while using codes—Jane detains Moreau. Moreau endeavors to wipe out the inexperienced Benji, and also Jane kicks her available a eye-port to the girl death. Brandt accuses Her of diminishing the quest for retribution against Moreau, but Ethan accuses Brandt connected with keeping secrets there, as she has demonstrated abilities decidedly atypical of the mere analyzer. While Ethan seeks more details from Bogdan, Brandt confides to help Benji and also Jane that he was assigned as security detail to help Ethan and also his better half Julia while these folks were on getaway in Croatia. While Brandt has been on patrol, Julia has been killed by way of Serbian struck squad, prompting Ethan to help pursue and also kill these before he was caught with the Russians and delivered to prison. Bogdan and also his arms-dealer uncle inform Ethan in which Hendricks is going to be in Mumbai. The hands dealer helped the sale of the defunct Soviet military services satellite to help Indian telecom entrepreneur Brij Nath. The satellite might be used to help transmit the launch requirements for nuclear-tipped missiles. While Brandt and also Benji imbed the server place to deactivate the satellite, Billings gets Nath to help reveal the satellite override signal. But Hendricks features anticipated Ethan's prepare and infects Nath's servers with a virus previous to sending a signal from any television broadcasting tower to your Russian ballistic missile submarine inside Pacific to help fire at San francisco. Ethan pursues Hendricks plus the launch device while other team-members try to bring the broadcast stop back online. Ethan and also Hendricks fight on the launch-control product before Hendricks gets to the death about it to ensure success. Benji wipes out Wistrom, allowing Brandt to revive power on the station and also enabling Ethan to help deactivate the missile, while fatally injured Hendricks witnesses the failure connected with his prepare as he dies. Sidorov transpires upon the scene in time to notice what Ethan has been doing and realizes how the IMF will be innocent connected with bombing the Kremlin. The crew reconvenes 2 or 3 weeks later inside Seattle using Ethan achieving up using Luther Stickell and also accepting a new mission. This individual asks Benji, Billings, and Brandt to be his crew. Benji and also Carter recognize and walk away. Brandt refuses at first and confesses to help Ethan concerning being assigned to guard Julia and also failing. Even so, Ethan shows that Julia has been kidnapped and not killed plus the death with the Serbians taken place during the girl recovery. Julia's dying was after that faked to hold her secure and Ethan's prosecution with the Serbian fatalities was used as a way for him to help infiltrate the Moscow prison, where the Secretary considered Cobalt acquired contacts. Ethan proceeds to inform Brandt so it was Ethan's job to hold Julia secure, not Brandt's. Some sort of relieved Brandt after that accepts the mission. Julia will be shown in existence and joy at Ethan from through the port. Subsequent Julia's leaving, Ethan will be contacted using another quest, then vanishes in the fog.