In 1979 in Northern Ireland, Reuben James and Bob Harper, two British paratroopers in civilian clothes carry their drunken friend, Tony, also known as “Fish” out of a pub. As Reuben drives Fish home, he is stopped by a car full of masked men, who open fire with machine guns. Trying to drive around them, Reuben hits a pole and is knocked unconscious. Fish pulls out a pistol, shoots two of the assailants, then carries Reuben down an alley. A British army truck arrives and an officer orders Fish to drop his gun. Instead, Fish, points out that Reuben is black, therefore not Irish. In 1982, Fish, Reuben and Bobby fight in the Falklands War where Fish loses his leg and is sent home. Six years later, Reuben returns to his home in London, England, and spots Lynford, a childhood friend. Although Lynford is happy to see Reuben, he is too busy to talk. Reuben then runs into Challoner, a big police officer who slams him against a wall declaring black soldiers are only good for “jungle fighting.” Kilcoyne, a police lieutenant, arrives, checks Reuben’s identification and orders Challoner to let him go. Later, Reuben is visited by Colin, a drug dealer, who tries to recruit Reuben as a bodyguard, but Reuben declines. He visits Fish, who is now living in a squalid apartment with his pregnant wife, Debbie, and their son. During the visit, Bob Harper, now a police constable, arrives to collect £200 Fish owes him. Seeing Fish cannot pay, Reuben gives Bob the money, then takes Fish out on the town. They get into a bar fight when they are refused entry to a fancy nightclub and end the evening passed out at Fish’s place. The next morning, Reuben returns home to finds a young boy and Haley, a girl of thirteen, robbing his flat. Haley gets away, but Reuben nabs the boy and forces him to take him to the Haley’s flat. As Reuben knocks on the door, the boy kicks him in the shins and runs away. Stacey, Haley’s mother, opens the door and claims Haley does not live there, but Haley arrives wearing Reuben’s paratrooper beret. He snatches it off her head, then leaves. Later, Stacey returns two of Reuben’s war medals. After weeks of unemployment, Reuben walks past some teenagers playing soccer with Harry, a neighborhood policeman. At a pub, Reuben explains to Lynford that he joined the army to make something of himself. Challoner comes into the pub, grabs Lynford, and demands to know where he was last Friday at 5:00 p.m. When Lynford says he was having sex with Challoner’s mother, the cop pulls out his pistol, but hides it when Kilcoyne enters. Lynford tells the lieutenant he was with Reuben on Friday and Reuben backs his alibi. Leaving the pub, Reuben finds Colin waiting for him. They go to a gymnasium Colin owns, and he tells Reuben he wants him to be his partner. Although Colin professes to be “clean,” Reuben turns him down. That night, Reuben, Fish and Bob Harper go to a party at Lynford’s flat. Reuben bumps into Stacey and the two dance before sharing a bottle of wine on the balcony. As Reuben walks her home , they are harassed by a van full of cops who yell for Stacey to try a real man instead of an “animal.” Reuben returns to the party to see Bob Harper and a squad of cops arresting everyone on drug charges. Bob tells him Fish got away. The next morning, Debbie telephones to announce she gave birth in the middle of the night. Reuben wakes Fish, who is in bed with another girl, and tells him he has a daughter. Fish gives Reuben his tickets to Paris, France, stating he cannot use them now. That night, Reuben takes Stacey and Haley to a fair and asks her to come to Paris with him. She says “yes,” but she becomes uneasy when Reuben hits six bullseyes at a shooting gallery. She explains that Haley’s father was an armed robber and she wants nothing to do with guns. Reuben assures her that he gave up guns when he quit the army. Returning to the apartment complex, Reuben, Haley, and Stacey hear a gunshot and see Lynford and two men running away. They look down into the street to see Kilcoyne holding a dying Harry. The lieutenant begs someone to tell him who fired the shot, but no one admits to seeing anything. Days later, Reuben gets a letter informing him that his request for a new passport was denied. A passport officer explains that since he was born in St. Lucia, and St. Lucia is no longer a British colony, he is not a British citizen. Fish and Reuben go out and get drunk. Upon returning to Fish’s home, they find an electric company employee threatening to turn off the power unless Debbie can give him ten percent of the bill that is owed. Reuben attacks the man forcing him to drive away screaming that he will be back. Realizing Fish is desperate for money; Reuben goes home and puts a pistol into his waistband. He opens the door to find Stacey, who has come to console him about not being British. She hugs him, but feels the pistol and walks away. That night, Colin and Reuben go to a public bathroom to meet with Stylee, a Pakistani drug dealer, and his Sikh bodyguard to buy heroin. When the exchange is complete, Colin and Reuben leave the bathroom. A squad of police run by them and arrest Stylee. Realizing Colin set the other men up, Reuben tells him their partnership is over. When Reuben enters Fish’s house, he is almost killed by two machine gun blasts. He hits the floor and sees Fish in his wheelchair screaming that no one is going to turn off his power. Reuben takes away Fish’s gun. Upon learning Debbie and the children have left his friend, Reuben hands him the money he made from Colin and tells Fish to “sort it out.” Later, Reuben enters his flat to find Kilcoyne waiting. The lieutenant tells Reuben he knows about Colin and unless Reuben finds Harry’s killer, he is going to be arrested for drug dealing. Days later, Reuben gets a passport from St. Lucia and buys an airplane ticket to leave the country. He returns to his neighborhood to find it swarming with police. Before he can get to his flat, he runs into Stacey, who gives him back the tickets to Paris. As she turns away, she sees Haley running with a gang of teenagers carrying clubs. Stacey and Reuben follow her to an underground parking garage and find Lynford and a group of men and women arming themselves to attack the police. When Reuben asks Lynford if one death is not enough for him, his friend tells Reuben he was trying to kill Challoner when he accidently shot Harry. He shows Reuben the faces of those around him who have been unfairly beaten by Challoner or other policemen and declares they are at war. Reuben locates Kilcoyne and tells him everything. The cops move into the neighborhood and a riot breaks out. Reuben is about to leave to catch his plane when Fish arrives. Reuben tells his friend he is going to St. Lucia to be a gigolo and Fish threatens to join him. As they get out of the elevator they find Lynford with a pistol. Fish hits him with his crutch and grabs the gun. Challoner and his partner appear, and shoot Fish to death. Kilcoyne takes away Challoner’s gun while Reuben screams for Fish not to die. Reuben runs to Fish’s home, grabs his machinegun, and then shoots Challoner from a window. As Reuben leaves the building, Bob Harper, who is on a rooftop with a sniper’s rifle, is ordered to shoot him. After a second’s hesitation, Bob does.