We soon learn that the CIA are aware of Greene's plans in Bolivia and they agree to take care of Bond. Meanwhile Bond follows Greene to a production of Tosca being held on the shore of Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria, which is being used as a clandestine way for members of Quantum to discuss the destabilisation of the Bolivian government and the control of South America's water supply. It emerges that Greene intends to use his government contacts to help overthrow the current regime in Bolivia, and place the exiled General Medrano as the head of state. Medrano will in exchange give him a barren piece of land, which will actually give them total control of the nation's water supply. Bond manages to panic some of the members forcing them to leave the theatre, this enables Bond to be able to identify members of the organisation and send details back to MI6.

As a result of yet another death of a potentially vital source of information, Bond's passports and credit cards are revoked at the behest of M (Judi Dench). Despite this, Bond is still able to travel to Italy, where he reunites with René Mathis, his contact who first appeared in Casino Royale. After an awkward introduction, Mathis agrees to help Bond, and the duo subsequently make their way to La Paz, Bolivia. As they leave La Paz Airport, an MI6 field operative working out of the British Consulate, Agent Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton), introduces herself and makes clear to Bond that there is an arrest warrant on him and that he is to return to the UK on the next available flight. Bond and Mathis dutifully ignore this threat and make their way to the centre of La Paz, where, posing as teachers who struck it rich on the lottery, check in to a notably expensive hotel. Agent Fields joins Bond in the hotel room, where she falls for Bond's charms – which was totally rubbish!

The trio attend a fund raiser held by Greene, where he seems to be successful in soliciting funds following an impassioned speech to the guests of the party regarding the creation of nature reserves via purchased land. Camille then gatecrashes the party, creating an unwelcome distraction for Greene, who then threatens to kill Camille by throwing her off a broken first-floor balcony. It is at this point that Bond makes his appearance to Greene and his main accomplice, Elvis. Following a tense conversation, Bond and Camille leave the party, while in the meantime, Agent Fields cunningly trips Elvis, causing him to fall down a flight of concrete stairs. Bond and Camille exit to a Range Rover Sport, which is then stopped by police. As Bond opens the boot lid of the vehicle, Rene Mathis, battered but alive, lies prone in the boot. As Bond picks Mathis up from the boot, the policemen open fire and gravely injure Mathis. Bond disarms the policemen and comforts the dying Mathis, who asks Bond to forgive the betrayal of Vesper Lynd. Mathis dies in the arms of Bond, who then dumps his body in the adjacent dumpster.

Bond and Camille then make their way to the location of Greene's intended land acquisition. They survey the area in a 50′s Douglas DC-3 propeller plane, where they are intercepted by a chopper and a fighter jet sent out by General Medrano. Bond and Camille successfully evade and defeat their pursuers after an airborne chase, but at the cost of a damaged plane. Bond and Camille escape to a sink hole, where the duo realise that Greene was not interested in oil, but supplies of fresh water, hidden in underground rivers. After this revelation, they return to La Paz. At the hotel, Bond is reunited with M and a cabal of MI6 operatives. M subsequently scolds Bond for his hitherto reckless actions. Bond then notices a darkened body lying face down on the double bed of the hotel room. The lifeless body is that of Agent Fields who, M states to Bond, was drowned in crude oil by forces allied to Quantum (Her body on the bed is positioned the same way as Jill Masterson's gold-painted body was in Goldfinger).

It is at this point that M effectively revokes Bond's licence to kill, and asks him to disarm and end his activities in Bolivia. Despite this, Bond escapes once more by overpowering several MI6 operatives accompanying him in a lift. After this escape Bond encounters and speaks to M, stating to her that he is not finished with his operation. Bond then leaves the hotel with the help of Camille. Bond makes contact with CIA ally Felix Leiter, whom he then meets in a local bar. Not long after the encounter, the bar is swarming with counter-terrorist personnel with orders to capture Bond. Bond makes his escape from the bar and reunites with Camille.

The duo make their way to a remote hydrogen fuel cell run eco-hotel located in a barren piece of Bolivian desert. In the hotel are General Medrano and the Bolivian Colonel of Police, who await Greene and his entourage's arrival. Medrano then asks the hostess for a beer, which the hostess subsequently delivers. Greene and his men then arrive at the hotel, and proceed to initiate the land transfer process between him and Medrano. The Colonel receives his Euro cash payment as part of his support for the coup. It is also at this meeting that Greene decides to change the terms of the deal. Realising that Quantum has also infiltrated his key personnel, General Medrano reluctantly signs to the new deal. As the parties depart, Bond infiltrates the hotel, killing the departing Colonel of Police in the process. As the Land Rover Defender occupied by the Colonel reverses back into the parking space, it crashes into a set of hydrogen fuel tanks, thus setting off a chain of explosions that eventually decimate the hotel.

Meanwhile, Camille infiltrates the hotel via roof entry. In his hotel room, the General proceeds to rape the beer-serving hostess. Camille overhears the screams from the hostess and realises Medrano is in the same room. She kills the guards at Medrano's door, then proceeds to a fight with Medrano. At the same time, Bond is making his way up the hotel, subduing Greene's men and eventually reaching Greene. As the hotel continues to disintegrate, assisted by continuous explosions of hydrogen tanks, Bond and Greene engage in a fist-fight. The fight ends with Greene being injured in the foot by a fire axe. At this point, Bond overhears a gunshot from Medrano's room and leaves Greene to his fate. Bond finds a shaken Camille huddling as the room where the fight occurred falls to pieces. Bond and Camille eventually manage to escape the flame-strewn room by blowing a hole in the wall. Bond then sees a limping Greene escaping from the hotel. He easily catches up with him, and proceeds to pick up and drive him far away from the hotel. Bond then uncharacteristically lets Greene live, opting to leave the antagonist stranded in the middle of the desert and leaving him with a can of oil in the process. Bond and Camille then reach a station, where they have one final kiss before the duo part their ways.

In the last scene of the film, Bond is in a Russian town, Kazan, where he confronts Vesper's boyfriend, who is occupied with a Canadian agent, Corinne Veneau. It emerges that Vesper's boyfriend is a member of Quantum who becomes involved with high-ranking women to get them to give up government assets in order to save him when he gets purposefully taken hostage. Bond tells Corrine to alert the Canadian Intelligence Service that there is a leak and ushers her out of the room; he stays behind with the boyfriend. Bond then leaves the building and is confronted by M who is surprised that Bond did not kill Vesper's boyfriend. M also explains to Bond that Greene was found in the Bolivian desert with two shots in the head and a gut full of oil. Bond sets out, more focused than before, knowing that Mr. White and Quantum are still on the loose. The final shot is that of Vesper's necklace, of which Bond kept throughout the film, lying in the snow.