Newly assigned to an undercover narcotics unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), police officer Jake Hoyt must spend a day with veteran Detective Alonzo Harris, for a performance evaluation. At the start of the day, Harris and Jake stop a drug deal and confiscate what appears to be marijuana. Although Jake declines, Harris insists that he prove his undercover skills by smoking the drugs, eventually forcing him to do so by gunpoint. Afterward, Harris reveals that the marijuana was actually laced with the dangerous hallucinogenic, PCP. He takes the inebriated Jake to visit Roger, a former police officer who now deals drugs. Soon after, in an alleyway, they chance upon two drug addicts who are about to rape a teenage girl. Harris observes as Jake moves in to stop them. As the three scatter, Jake retrieves the girl’s wallet that fell on the ground. Elsewhere, Harris and Jake catch a crack cocaine dealer named Blue, who offers information on a higher-up, Kevin “Sandman” Miller. Harris and Jake go to Sandman’s address, where Harris produces a false search warrant, conducts a raid, and steals $40,000. During lunch time, Jake accompanies Harris to the home of his mistress, Sara, and their son. Afterward, they rendezvous with three corrupt LAPD officials, who warn Harris that the Russian mafia is after him and urge him to leave town. Harris denies it, claiming the situation is under control. He hands over the $40,000 he just stole in exchange for an arrest warrant, which he uses against Roger, the ex-cop-turned-drug-dealer whom he and Jake visited earlier. With the help of four other crooked cops, Harris confiscates $4 million from Roger’s house. He orders Jake to kill Roger, but Jake will not comply. Harris shoots and kills Roger, himself. Jake wrests Harris’s gun, which prompts a standoff between him and Harris’s cohorts. Harris warns Jake that they could easily kill him and link the incident to the PCP in his bloodstream, thereby forcing him into submission. Later that night, Harris abandons Jake at the home of a gang member named Smiley. Realizing that Smiley was paid to kill him, Jake attempts to flee. A gang member searches him before the planned execution and discovers the wallet of the girl he saved in the alleyway. She happens to be a cousin of Smiley’s. Jake explains that he stopped two men from raping her, and out of gratitude, they spare his life. Jake goes to Sara’s apartment in search of Harris, who is on his way to pay off the Russian mafia with the money he stole from Roger. Harris tries to speed away in his car, but Jake jumps on top of it and causes him to crash. As neighbors crowd around, Harris attempts to bribe them for help, to no avail. He pulls a gun, but Jake stops him with a shot to his backside. Jake seizes Harris’s money and police badge, and heads back to the police station to report him. Harris rushes to the Los Angeles International Airport, hoping to evade capture, but before he makes it there, he is stopped and killed by the Russians. When Jake returns to his home that night, he sees a television news report of Harris’s death.