Two years after the events of the first game, the Payday gang relocates to Washington, D.C. to carry out a new wave of heists. After proving their capabilities, the crew catches the attention of the Dentist, a powerful middleman who helps them break their arrested member Hoxton out of prison and uncover the informant who betrayed him. As they take on increasingly ambitious contracts, including stealing a mysterious box from a casino vault, their operator Bain is captured by the Dentist and an unknown faction. With help from the mercenary Locke, the gang discovers the conspiracy behind Bain's abduction, frees him, and carries out one final heist: infiltrating the White House to steal presidential pardons for their crimes. In an alternate ending, the gang discovers a secret ancient machine beneath the White House and activates it, with Bain seemingly using it to transfer his consciousness into the President's body.