The story follows Serge Shuster, a government official whose peaceful weekend with his family takes a violent turn when he discovers his name on a mysterious list called the “Matignon List” – a secret government-sanctioned hit list of people to be eliminated. After learning he’s the fifth target and that the first person on the list has already been killed, Serge’s home is invaded by special forces operatives intent on killing him and making it look like an accident.

What makes this situation unique is the presence of Leo, Serge’s quiet and skilled gardener, who turns out to be much more than he appears. Leo helps protect Serge and his family, displaying incredible combat abilities that clearly come from military training. As the story unfolds, we learn that Leo’s real name is Leonidas “Leo” Bohm, a former special forces soldier who has been living under an assumed identity.

The main antagonist is revealed to be Commander Masson, Leo’s former superior officer, who leads the kill team. Through flashbacks and dialogue, we learn that Leo and Masson have a dark history – Leo deserted his unit after refusing to participate in the massacre of innocent nomads that Masson had ordered. This explains why Leo has been living a quiet life as a gardener, trying to escape his violent past.

The story becomes more personal when we learn about Leo’s tragic background. He reveals to Serge that his father was abusive and killed his mother while Leo wasn’t there to protect her. This trauma has shaped Leo’s character and explains his deep connection to gardening – he finds peace and purpose in nurturing plants, which don’t judge or complain, unlike humans.

Throughout the night, Leo and Serge work together to protect Serge’s family, including his wife Mia, teenage daughter Alice, and baby Charlotte. The situation becomes increasingly tense as Masson’s team kills Jeanne, the elderly housekeeper, and continues hunting them through the house and its grounds. Leo’s intimate knowledge of the property, including a hidden World War II-era bunker beneath the garden, proves crucial to their survival.

The film culminates in a series of intense confrontations. Serge’s daughter Alice manages to record Masson confessing to the illegal assassination program on video, which will later help expose the conspiracy. The final showdown takes place on a rural road where Masson pursues the family. Leo arrives just in time to engage in a brutal final fight with his former commander, ending with Leo killing Masson using gardening tools – a symbolic fusion of his past life as a soldier and his new life as a gardener.

The ending works on multiple levels. The immediate threat is eliminated, and Serge’s family survives. The video evidence leads to a major political scandal, resulting in the arrest of Prime Minister Georges-François Balfen, suggesting that justice will be served at the highest levels. However, Leo chooses to disappear rather than stay with the family, despite their clear affection for him. This decision reflects his understanding that he can never fully escape his past or integrate into normal society.

The film’s final scene shows Serge arriving at his new job as Environment Minister on a bicycle, but the security guards don’t recognize him – a humorous moment that emphasizes how even after all the drama and violence, life goes on with its everyday frustrations. More importantly, when the guard checks the list of approved people, Serge is relieved to not find his name on it – a clever callback to the deadly list that started the whole ordeal.

The story works as both an action thriller and a character study. Through Leo, it explores themes of redemption, the impact of violence, and the possibility of finding peace through simple, nurturing work. The garden serves as a metaphor throughout – a place where Leo can literally put down roots and help things grow, in contrast to his destructive past. The title “The Gardener” thus works on multiple levels, referring not just to Leo’s cover identity but to his genuine transformation.

The film also offers commentary on government corruption and the moral compromises made in the name of national security. The Matignon List represents how democratic governments can betray their principles through secret programs of assassination and violence. By helping Serge expose this system, Leo finally completes his journey from being a tool of state violence to actively fighting against it.

The ending suggests that while systems of violence and corruption can be exposed and challenged, the personal cost of confronting them is high. Leo must remain an outsider, unable to fully join the family he protected or claim credit for his heroic actions. Yet there’s also hope in the suggestion that through simple, nurturing work – like gardening – even those with violent pasts can find a measure of peace and purpose.

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