Sixty-five million years ago, an alien race known as the "Creators" used devices called Seeds to cover Earth with a metallic alloy called "Transformium", wiping out the dinosaurs in the process. In the present day, geologist Darcy Tirrel excavates the Transformium for K.S.I. Industries, that use it to build Transformers drones.
Five years after the Battle of Chicago, the humans view Transformers as hostile and terminate all joint operations with the aliens. Though the public believes that the Autobots were granted sanctuary, they are hunted down by a rogue CIA black ops division, Cemetery Wind, led by opportunistic, rogue intelligence operative Harold Attinger, who has delusions that all Transformers are dangerous and must be destroyed. Lockdown, a Cybertronian assassin and bounty hunter working for the Creators, is tasked to find Optimus Prime and kill any Autobots who refuse to give up his location. In exchange, he gives Attinger a Seed if his division manages to capture Optimus. Lockdown locates and kills Ratchet when he refuses to give up Optimus's location.