Michael Westen is steamed -- or, more precisely, burned. His career as a spy ends when he gets a "burn notice," the covert equivalent of a pink slip. Stuck in his hometown of Miami, he intends to find out who did this to him and why, although that's not easy to do: With the burn notice attached to his name, he is cut off from his usual contacts and has to fly under the radar of the intelligence network lest he tip off his secret enemy. So it's a good thing he can rely on help from Fiona, his ex-girlfriend and IRA spy, and his friend Sam, also a former spy. Then there's Madeline, Michael's mother, a hypochondriac but probably not a spy.
The third time turns out to be the charm for criminal Neal Caffrey. He has been eluding FBI agent Peter Burke for years, a run that finally comes to an end with his capture. But after the resourceful prisoner escapes from a maximum-security facility, then is nabbed once again by Burke, Caffrey suggests a different end-game: In return for freedom, he'll help the Feds catch long-sought criminals. Though skeptical, Burke soon realizes that Caffrey's instincts and insight are a rare commodity. Caffrey's trusted friend and co-conspirator with ties to the criminal underworld, Mozzie, also becomes a useful source for Burke and the FBI.
