Dosmo Pizzo (Danny Aiello), an ordinary guy, finds himself involved in a murder-for-hire scheme. He is betrayed by his partner, the strangely serene Lee Woods (James Spader), who leaves him for dead. Suspecting that Woods will come back to finish him, Dosmo takes an obnoxious art dealer (Greg Cruttwell) and his sweet-natured assistant (Glenne Headly) hostage. Meanwhile, a rookie policeman (Eric Stoltz) investigating the murder begins to suspect that some kind of conspiracy is behind it.