Former Ohio State quarterback and rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah assists experienced agent Angelo Pappas in investigating a string of bank robberies by the "Ex-Presidents" a gang of robbers who wear rubber masks of Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. Rather than robbing the vault, they only demand the cash the tellers have in their drawers, and are gone within ninety seconds.
Pursuing Pappas's theory that the criminals are surfers, Utah goes undercover to infiltrate the surfing community. He fabricates a personal family tragedy to persuade orphaned surfer Tyler Endicott to teach him to surf, after she saves him from drowning during his first attempt at surfing. Through her, he meets Bodhi, the charismatic leader of a gang of surfers consisting of Roach, Grommet, and Nathanial. The group are initially wary of Utah, but accept him when Bodhi recognizes him as the former college football star. As he masters surfing, Utah finds himself increasingly drawn to the surfers' adrenaline-charged lifestyle, Bodhi's philosophies, and Tyler. Following a clue retrieved by analyzing toxins found in the hair of one of the bank robbers, Utah and Pappas lead an FBI raid on another gang of surfers, resulting in the deaths of two of them. The raid inadvertently ruins a DEA undercover operation, as those surfers were wanted for separate charges, but they are disproven to be the Ex-Presidents.
Watching Bodhi's group surfing, Utah begins to suspect that they are the "Ex-Presidents", noting how close a group they are and the way one of them moons everyone in the same manner one of the robbers does when leaving a bank. Utah and Pappas stake out a bank and the Ex-Presidents appear. While wearing a Reagan mask, the gang leader (implied to be Bodhi) leads Utah on a foot chase through the neighborhood, which ends when Utah's old knee injury flares up after jumping into an aqueduct. Despite having a clear shot, Utah does not shoot and the leader escapes.
At a campfire that night, it is confirmed that Bodhi and his gang are the Ex-Presidents. Tyler discovers Utah's FBI badge and angrily terminates their relationship after briefly holding him at gunpoint. Shortly afterwards, Bodhi aggressively recruits Utah into going skydiving with the group and he accepts. After the jump, Bodhi reveals that he knows Utah is an FBI agent and has arranged for his friend Rosie, a non-surfing thug, to hold Tyler hostage. Utah is blackmailed into participating in the Ex-Presidents' last bank robbery of the summer. As a result, Grommet, along with an off-duty police officer and a bank guard�who both attempt to foil the robbery�are killed. Outraged by Grommet's death, Bodhi knocks Utah out and leaves the scene.
Defying their superior who arrests Utah for armed robbery, Pappas and Utah head to the airport where Bodhi, Roach, and Nathanial are about to leave for Mexico. During a shootout, Pappas and Nathanial are killed and Roach is seriously wounded. With Roach aboard, Bodhi forces Utah onto the plane at gunpoint. Once airborne and over their intended drop zone, Bodhi and Roach put on their parachutes and jump from the plane, leaving Utah to take the blame. With no other parachutes available, Utah jumps from the plane with Bodhi's gun and intercepts him. After landing safely, Utah's knee gives out again, allowing Bodhi to escape Utah's grasp. Bodhi meets with Rosie and releases Tyler, who reunites with Utah. Roach dies of his wounds, and Bodhi and Rosie leave with the money.
