When Sonny Paluso's (Walter Matthau) gas station is blown up and Donald Quinelle (Robin Williams) loses his cushy executive job, the two men meet on the unemployment line. Demoralized by how long it is, they repair to a diner, where they witness a murder by Jack Locke (Jerry Reed), a notorious hit man. Sonny and Donald soon realize that Locke is now targeting them, and the latter cracks up under the pressure, enrolling in an extreme survivalist school to learn how to defend himself.