For her entire life, Gracie Hart has dreamed of emulating the career of her mother, Emily, a highly esteemed FBI agent who died in the line of duty. Unfortunately, Gracie's aggressive nature has branded her as a loose cannon, and the only one in the bureau who actually believes in her is fellow agent and friend, Eric Matthews. When a terrorist threatens to bomb the Miss United States pageant, the FBI rushes to find a female agent to go undercover as a contestant. Unfortunately, Gracie is the only female FBI agent who can "look the part" despite her complete lack of refinement and femininity. She prides herself in being "just one of the boys" and is horrified at the idea of becoming a girly girl. To assist her with the emergency assignment, the bureau enlists the help of Victor Melling, an obsessive and pompous pageant consultant, to transform Gracie from a "woman without a detectable smidgen of estrogen" to "Gracie Lou Freebush," glamorous beauty queen. Transformation complete, Gracie must get comfortable with the mercilessly driven and perfectly coifed contestants, infiltrate the pageant and thwart the terrorists.