Nathan "Nate" Ford is a former insurance investigator and the leader of a team staging elaborate cons for clients victimized by those holding wealth and influence to avoid legal reprisal. The team comes together when Victor Dubenich, a wealthy aerospace executive, persuades Ford to lead a team of talented criminals to steal aeronautical plans allegedly stolen from him by a competitor. After a successful heist, Dubenich withholds their payment and attempts to have them killed, whereupon they implicate him in a bribery attempt, which leads to his arrest by the FBI. Thereafter, they practice similar deceptions to avenge civilians who cannot use the legal system to redress their grievances. Subplots include relationships between Nate and grifter Sophie Devereaux, between computer hacker Alec Hardison and "hitter" Eliot Spencer, and between Hardison and thief Parker. The team operates free of scrutiny as "Leverage Consulting & Associates", until Nate's former colleague, James Sterling, attempts their capture, whereupon they steal a collection of valuable art from Nate's former boss, Ian Blackpoole (returning it in return for Blackpoole's being kicked out of his own company), and disband for six months. In Boston, Nate's hometown, they resume their activities, still followed by Sterling, until Nate surrenders to the latter in exchange for the others' freedom, finally admitting to Sterling and himself that he is a thief. As season three begins, Ford is in prison, while the team attempts to free him, until a mysterious Italian woman blackmails the team into bankrupting the untouchable criminal Damien Moreau. At the season's end, Moreau is imprisoned in San Lorenzo, a fictional European nation formerly under his control. Season 4 opens days after their return from San Lorenzo, the team discovering that someone has been bugging their headquarters, later identified as the wealthy businessman Jack Latimer, who has been profiting by their victories and now offers information on the evildoings of other major corporations, in exchange for profit on each company's downfall. Nate refuses this offer, and his suspicions are justified when Latimer is revealed to be working with Victor Dubenich (the team's first victim) against the team. Season 5 opens with Nate having moved the team to Portland and setting up shop in a microbrewery, but the season premiere ends with the revelation that Nate is working with Hardison on a secret project unknown to the others. After a series of extremely intricate confidence tricks, the secret project is revealed and carried off, despite the recurrent Sterling. The season's final episode, broadcast on Christmas Day 2012, also reveals drastic changes in the lives and dynamics of the team, but assures the audience of their continuity.
Nathan "Nate" Ford, called "The Mastermind" or, "The Brains" Played By Timothy Hutton, is a former insurance fraud investigator for IYS Insurance, operated by Ian Blackpoole, and the team's mastermind. The son of South Boston numbers runner Jimmy Ford,[14] Nate originally intended to become a Catholic priest prior to becoming an insurance investigator. While Ford was working for IYS, Blackpoole decided on a policy of denying payment for every medical treatment it once covered, especially those procedures deemed experimental. (Blackpoole claimed the policy was implemented to cut costs, but in fact, it was so that his company would be able to turn a bigger profit.) When Nate's young son Sam became terminally ill, IYS refused to pay for an experimental procedure, resulting in his death. The aftermath led to Nate's divorce from his wife Maggie, his subsequent dismissal from the company, and his descent into alcoholism. At this low point, Nate was hired to lead a group of thieves to retrieve stolen documents. After meeting the team for the first time and running a con against their employer, who double-crossed them, Nate is asked to continue working with them and is given the privilege of leading the team and selecting what clients the team will help. A skilled planner and chess player, Nate draws on his experience as an insurance investigator to anticipate the moves of his team's marks. Nate is affable, but is unwilling to discuss his own problems with friends or others. His tendency to change objectives in the middle of a job, his alcoholism, and his often-tenuous relationship with his team has, on occasion, put the client and the team at risk. Nate's struggle to battle his demons is a major theme of the series, and it is not till the series finale that he is finally able to walk away and find peace.
Sophie Devereaux, called "The Grifter" Played By Gina Bellman, is an accomplished British grifter with a taste for art theft and a desire to become a legitimate actress. Multi-lingual and particularly adept at the use of accents, Sophie is seen to portray many characters in various cons, usually making direct contact with marks to draw them into the con. Comically, her attempts to make a career as an actress lead to nothing but failure, as she proves woefully untalented and over-the-top onstage. Only during a con, when she can disappear effortlessly into a character, can she actually act well, ironically, if she is pretending to be an actress. (As Nate phrases it, "She can act...when it's an act.") Sophie has a collection of aliases, which includes "Sophie Devereaux", and her real name is unknown. She has a long history with Nate, dating back at least 10 years to a period when he investigated her spree of art theft for IYS. At some point, they recognized an attraction to one another (possibly around the time they shot each other) and their relationship wavers between platonic and romantic for much of the show's run, leaving Sophie alternately frustrated, angry, and disappointed. They have on occasion tried to further the relationship, but for various reasons, one or the other resisted until they wound up in bed together in the third season finale. After that, they settle into an occasionally bumpy, but devoted, romance. Nate proposes to Sophie in the series finale (using what he believes to be her real name), and they depart the team for parts unknown.
Alec Hardison, called "The Hacker" Played By Aldis Hodge, is the team's computer specialist and hacker. He is a self-proclaimed geek and science fiction fan, with an easygoing manner and a dry, unusual wit. Hardison was raised by a foster parent, an older woman he refers to as "Nana", and his first large-scale crimes involved sticking the country of Iceland with Nana's medical bills. Hardison can hack into most forms of electronics, and he is rarely caught. Hardison designed and assembled the computer and video systems in the team's headquarters, and is responsible for the two-way earpieces ("earbuds") used by the team on each episode. Hardison is a convincing actor, able to talk his way out of almost any scenario, but he is often too clever for his own good, and whenever he has the opportunity to lead a con, he devises a massively overcomplicated scheme usually doomed to failure. He is also very attached to his electronics (and in particular his van, "Lucille") and shown to become very depressed when the con takes a turn for the worse and requires his electronics to be destroyed so the team can make its escape. Hardison's and Parker's relationship develops into a romantic one as time goes on, but it is fraught with personal (and physical) complications.
Eliot Spencer, called "The Hitter" Played By Christian Kane, is the team's highly skilled martial artist, weapons expert, and self-described "retrieval specialist". A former black ops soldier, his role in cons is often to play supporting roles while protecting the team, often leading him into hand-to-hand combat that draws on his martial arts skills. Eliot was once a hitman for crime financier Damien Moreau, and he has a long history as being an almost legendary assassin, hired gun, and bodyguard, then a retrieval specialist. Despite being a skilled marksman, Elliot has an intense dislike for firearms, and uses them only when no other options are available to him. While merely presumed as the muscleman, he demonstrates a subtle intelligence in conversation, often taking advantage of the underestimations of others and later in the series performing as a grifter along with Sophie. In contrast to the other characters, Eliot prefers to keep his romantic life private, as well as much of his background, which includes some very dark deeds of which he refuses to speak. Over the course of the series, he displays an extraordinary talent for cooking, and later takes charge of the kitchen of the microbrewery in Portland where the team has set up headquarters, despite clashes with Hardison on the subject of food.
Parker, called "The Thief" Played By Beth Reisgraf, is an expert thief, cat-burglar, pickpocket and safe-cracker, memorably referred to (by Eliot) as "20 pounds of crazy in a five pound bag." The product of an abusive childhood spent in several foster homes, Parker is awkward around other people and has a terrible understanding of social norms. Over the course of the series, she comes to regard the other members of the team as her family, and for the first time in her life, trusts someone other than herself. Sophie and other members of the team have attempted to improve gaps in her social skills on numerous occasions, usually with limited success. As they become closer, Parker develops romantic feelings for Hardison, but her inability to properly express her feelings leads to a slow, awkward courtship. While emotionally impulsive, she can demonstrate great physical self-control in her work using acrobatics, strength, and concentration to her advantage. Parker was trained at a young age by expert thief (and recurring character) Archie Leach, and her obsessive focus on theft is to the point that her safe house is filled with gear and rappelling equipment to help her in various jobs. Parker is often sensitive to cons involving children, and at several points, the team's other members were thrown into danger when she went off-script to ensure an at-risk child did not end up like her. In season 5's "The Broken Wing Job", she proves that she can handle problems on her own while the other team members are away and seems to be, with Nate's guidance, developing her ability as a planner. In the series finale, Nate retires and leaves the team in her hands as the new Mastermind.
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