Liman and his screenwriter, Gary Spinelli (Chaos Walking, Stash House), apparently play fast and loose with the
facts of Seal's life («dramatic license» in case you're wondering), but hew relatively close to the general contours and parameters
of that same life, following Seal as he settles in Mena, Arkansas at the behest
of his careerist handler, expands his drug - smuggling business with Schafer's
willful ignorance as an ally, and turns a massive property (also bestowed by a generous federal government) into a training ground for the Contra rebels who fought against the Communist - allied Sandinista regime in Nicaragua in the «80s.