After getting laid off, Weslake (Donald Sutherland) begins working in the pawn shop of stingy Garvey (Jack Warden). When Weslake's friend Dillard (Sean Penn) and his pal, electrician Ramon (Trinidad Silva), come in to retrieve Dillard's pawned guitar, Ramon makes a deal with Garvey to install a burglar alarm system. Realizing the system will make his job unnecessary, Weslake teams up with Dillard, Ramon, pimp Boardwalk (Larry Riley) and homeless man Turtle (Wallace Shawn) to rob Garvey's vault.