After serving seven-years in prison for armed robbery, Ernest “Stick” Stickley travels by freight train to his hometown, Miami, Florida. He leaps from the moving train, and walks to a bodega to meet his friend, Rainy. Stick tells Rainy he wants to get a job before he sees his fifteen-year-old daughter, Katie. Rainy takes Stick with him on a job to pick up a suitcase full of money from a drug dealer named Chucky, who promises to pay him $5,000 to deliver it to a man named Nestor. Stick does not trust Chucky, but goes along with Rainy. While handing over the suitcase to Nestor’s men, Rainy is shot and killed by Chucky’s henchman, Moke. As Nestor’s gunmen pursue Stick, he escapes by driving Rainy’s van into a cornfield, and blowing up the vehicle. Nestor’s men recover Stick’s duffle bag, and find a picture of his daughter, Katie, inside. Stick seeks refuge at the home of his friend, Luis. Meanwhile, Nestor meets with Chucky, and demands that Chucky owes him a life after one of his men was killed in the fire set by Stick. Chucky assures Nestor that he will find Stick, and sends his henchman, Moke, to search for him. Following a lead to Luis’s home, they rough him up, but Luis does not reveal Stick’s whereabouts. When Stick returns, Luis asks him what he did to anger Chucky. In time, Luis tells Stick about the bad blood between Chucky and Nestor, blaming him for losing money and demanding the killing of one of Chucky’s men. Luis tells Stick that Chucky has been trying to get into business with a wealthy investor named Barry Braun, who is not involved with criminal activity. Stick meets Barry Braun at a dockside bar, and when Barry’s chauffeur goes missing, Stick helps Barry break into his own automobile. While working on the vehicle, Stick meets Barry’s beautiful financial advisor, Kyle McLaren. Barry takes a liking to Stick, and pays him to drive him home. After they arrive at Barry’s sprawling mansion, he offers Stick a permanent position as his driver, which includes room and board. Stick takes the job, despite the fact that he must share his onsite apartment with Barry’s houseman, Cornell. Stick insults Cornell, and when the man stands up to him, he earns Stick’s respect. Stick is excited to learn that Kyle McLaren stays in a room down the hall when she is in town conducting business for Barry. Stick asks Cornell what he knows about Chucky, and Cornell explains that Chucky is dying to do business with the squeaky-clean Barry. Sometime later, Chucky’s henchman, Moke, sees Stick with Barry, and reports his whereabouts to Chucky. However, Chucky orders Moke to steer clear of Stick when he is in Barry’s presence. Later, Moke follows Stick as he visits his daughter. Katie Stickley happily embraces her father, and they become reacquainted. After Katie leaves, Moke and another thug chase Stick with guns drawn, but Stick beats both men and escapes. Later, Kyle McLaren arrives to do business with Barry Braun. At a cocktail party, Stick and Kyle become friendly. When Stick sees Chucky at the party, he demands the $5,000 owed to Rainy for delivering the suitcase, but Chucky insults Stick and refuses to pay. Later, Stick tells Kyle about his criminal past. She shares that she does not fit in with her wealthy clients, and kisses Stick. When Cornell tells Stick to enjoy his good fortune and stop pursuing Chucky, Stick ignores him. Sometime later, Barry holds a meeting with a group of investors, including Chucky and Nestor, and introduces them to movie producer Leo Norman Firestone who asks the group to invest $100,000 each in his new film. Kyle proclaims the deal is a tax fraud, and advises the men not to make the illegal investment. Afterward, Nestor chastises Chucky for trying to involve him in the shady business deal. Nestor is angered when he sees Stick working for Barry, and that Chucky has failed to get rid of Stick. Stick approaches Nestor and Chucky, and again demands the $5,000 owed him. Later, Stick visits Nestor at his home and asks permission to retaliate against Chucky. Nestor grants permission, but later hires Moke to murder Stick and Chucky. When Stick visits Kyle’s room she invites him into her bed. He admits that he has a lot to lose, and gives up his plans to avenge Rainy. Sometime later, he takes his daughter, Katie, to lunch and expresses his regret about being away from her for so long. Moke searches for Stick at Barry Braun’s home, and shoots Cornell. Stick and Barry arrive to find Cornell being loaded into an ambulance, and Cornell tells Stick that Moke was the shooter. Barry lends Stick his Rolls Royce to go after Moke, and tells Stick he can keep the automobile if he kills the thug. Meanwhile, Moke goes to Chucky’s high-rise apartment and threatens him on his balcony. When Stick arrives, Moke puts his gun in his belt, offering Stick a chance to attack before he can pull his gun out. However, Chucky lunges at Moke and the two men fall over the balcony. Stick breaks into Nestor’s building, battles his henchman, and takes a gun. He holds Nestor at gunpoint and vows to turn him over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Nestor, anticipating retaliation, reveals that he has kidnapped Katie. Stick yells for his daughter to duck, then opens fire on Nestor’s men. After checking on Katie, Stick approaches Nestor, but does not shoot him. In time, Stick follows Kyle McLaren down the highway, and telephones her on her mobile phone. He instructs her to turn her car around, and they meet in the middle of the highway and embrace.