In Atlanta, Georgia, masked burglar Karen McCoy breaks into the Atlanta Union Bank at night, using high-tech gadgets. She sets off an alarm as she makes her escape, and police promptly arrive and arrest her. Six year later, Karen is released form the Athens Correctional Facility. She returns to Atlanta and telephones her former husband, Roy, and asks about their son, Patrick, who was three years old when she was arrested. Karen later witnesses an attempted robbery at a convenience store, and laughs at the fumbling criminal who drops his ammunition, and is chased out of the store by a gun-wielding clerk. The next day, Karen meets her parole officer, Gary Buckner, and learns she is required to live in a halfway house until she finds a job. After seeing her at the police station, J. T. Barker introduces himself as her “biggest fan.” Karen recognizes him as the inept robber from the convenience store, and reluctantly accepts a ride from him. She ignores him when he offers his services as a getaway driver for future heists. Karen searches for work, but is repeatedly turned down due to her criminal past. Eventually, she is hired by an industrial laundry service when told to write “self-employed” as her background. She goes to the halfway house, but is quickly intercepted by J. T., who insists she cannot stay in such depressing quarters. When he takes her to a nice home where he has secured her a room for rent, she is overwhelmed with gratitude. The next day, Karen meets with Roy, her ex-husband, and learns that he and his new wife, Cheryl, have told Patrick that his mother is dead. Karen is furious that they lied and never gave Patrick the letters she sent. When Cheryl arrives with nine-year-old Patrick, Roy introduces Karen to him as an old friend of his mother’s. Karen is too stunned to speak. After her son leaves, Karen punches Roy in the face. Elsewhere, J. T. Barker meets with wealthy criminal, Jack Schmidt, and asks about any upcoming heists. However, Jack claims he has given up his life of crime, and is surprised to learn that Karen McCoy has been released early from prison. When Karen meets with a social worker regarding Patrick, she is told that it may be better for him to believe she is dead. Later, as she watches Patrick playing in the park, she is approached by one of Jack Schmidt’s thugs, who demand she speak to her former associate. Karen refuses and beats the man. J. T. takes her to dinner to cheer her up, and suggests she contact Jack Schmidt about work, unaware that Karen knows him. She becomes angry, and tells J. T. that Schmidt was responsible for getting her caught and sent to prison. When Karen’s boss discovers she lied on her job application, she loses her job. Her parole officer, Gary Buckner, insists she return to the halfway house, but offers to reconsider if she has a drink with him. Karen agrees, but Buckner takes her to see Jack Schmidt instead, and threatens to plant drugs on her if she does not comply. Schmidt tells Karen he wants her to help them rob the Atlanta Union Bank, and tells her he would not have tipped-off police six years before if she had agreed to work with him them. When Karen insults him and leaves, Schmidt decides to kidnap Patrick. When the boy goes missing from school, Karen immediately suspects Schmidt, and borrows Roy’s automobile to search for her son. When she does not find him at Schmidt’s estate, Karen tracks down Buckner at his fishing cabin. After Buckner leaves, she breaks in and finds her son. Karen flees with Patrick, but Roy’s car breaks down, and Buckner catches up to them and knocks Karen unconscious. She awakens later in Schmidt’s home, and asks to see her son, who is being held in another room. After she is assured the boy will not be harmed, Karen notifies Roy that Patrick is safe, and convinces him not to involve police. She then asks J. T. Barker to be her driver for the heist. Sometime later, Karen stakes out the Atlanta Union Bank disguised as a wealthy woman in need of a safe-deposit box. She notes the security cameras and the steel vault door, and reports to Schmidt that the upgraded security system will make breaking in impossible. However, he insists that she find a solution. Karen spends time with Patrick while they are held at Schmidt’s estate, and comes up with a plan. After performing a practice run of the escape route with J. T., she determines they can complete the heist in five-minutes. In time, Patrick asks Karen about his mother, and she tells him she was there the day he was born. J. T. believes she should reveal her true identity to her son, and is surprised when J. T. tells Patrick that she is a bank robber. Later, J. T. has passports made, and deposits them and a handgun into a safe-deposit box at the bank. Karen tells Schmidt she is ready for the heist, and he gathers his men. Karen rigs the security system so their presence is not detected, then sets off a series of false alarms to distract police. Once inside the vault, Schmidt’s men load up the money, while Karen retrieves the gun from the safe-deposit box, then rigs the security gates to fall, locking Schmidt and his men inside the vault. He shoots at Karen as she and J. T. flee. She chides J. T. for not loading the handgun, and he is disappointed that Karen refused to take money from the vault. They race to Schmidt’s estate and fight Buckner to free Patrick. While J. T. loads Patrick in his vehicle, Karen breaks into Schmidt’s safe and steals $3 million, claiming he owes her. Karen telephones Roy and tells him to meet her at the airport to get Patrick, but J. T. believes she should take her son with them to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. When Roy arrives, he holds Karen at gunpoint and tries to steal her money. However, J. T. punches Roy in the face, and insists they take Patrick with them. He reveals to the boy that Karen is his mother, and Patrick embraces her before they hurry to board the airplane. In their first-class seats, J. T. toasts Karen with champagne, and professes his feelings for her. When she sees police vehicles on the tarmac racing toward them, Karen panics and prepares to be arrested. However, they are only there to escort an organ transplant courier onboard, and she embraces J. T. in relief.