Across 110th Street

Ex-convict Jim Harris and two accomplices plan to rob a Harlem count house controlled by the Mafia. The plan targets the Harlem operation and the money it holds, setting the stage for a brutal heist. This inciting act shows how desperation drives drastic, violent choices.

The planned robbery spirals out of control as Harris murders both the black gangsters and the white mobsters involved. The killers escape, leaving a trail of bodies and intensifying the feud between Harlem factions. Two police officers are murdered in the chaos, escalating the investigation.

News of the robbery reaches Don Gennaro, who controls the Harlem territory. He sends his son in law Nick to deal with the situation and reassert control. The Italian mob's intervention marks the start of a broader turf war with the black gangs.

Captain Frank Mattelli arrives at the crime scene and finds a wall of Omertà and silence. He encounters widespread bribery, distrust, and a lack of cooperation among witnesses. His old school approach clashes with the reality of Harlem's political and racial tensions.

Lt. Pope informs Mattelli that the case will be led for political reasons, effectively supervising from above. The young investigator takes the lead, promising a different path than Mattelli's methods. The clash between old and new policing shapes the investigation.

Nick travels to Doc Johnson, head of the black Harlem mob, to pressure him about security and locate the robbers. Johnson's henchman Shevvy begins patrolling the community and bribing bystanders to stay quiet. Gloria, Jim's girlfriend, becomes a pawn in their information-gathering game.

Gloria confronts Jim about the missing money and their uncertain future, highlighting his limited prospects as an ex-con. Jim responds with hostility, revealing his detachment from a normal life. The couple's relationship strains under the pressure of the violent world around them.

Police locate the getaway car abandoned in the river, triggering a new round of investigations. Shevvy bribes another officer to obtain information about the car's sale. Mattelli brutalizes the car's former owner while Pope challenges him on methods and racial bias.

Henry J., the driver who spent the heist money at a club, is tracked down by Nick's men. He is tortured and dies en route to the hospital, revealing the brutality of the pursuit. The violence is intensified by the revelation that he was crucified and castrated.

Mattelli visits Henry J's wife and learns they were not legally married. Pope lies and claims Henry J died in a hit-and-run to shield the truth. After obtaining Jim's name from Mrs. Jackson, Mattelli hands her cash on the way out.

Shevvy and his men torture the laundry owner to locate Jim's accomplice Joe. Joe takes his cut from the robbery and attempts to flee town, but is intercepted in a cab and must fight his way free. He manages to escape the ambush by driving away while a gunfight erupts.

Jim relocates to an abandoned tenement to hide from his pursuers, but an epilepsy flare-up complicates his plan. Gloria unintentionally leads the pursuers to the hideout, increasing the risk for Jim. Doc Johnson then phones Pope to reveal Harris's location.

Nick and his henchmen close in as a rooftop gunfight erupts. Gloria is killed in the initial exchange, and Jim, in a furious counterattack, kills Nick and chases the remaining pursuer into the street. The chase ends with the police converging on the scene.

In the final rooftop chase, Jim is mortally wounded by police snipers and collapses after throwing his money to schoolchildren. Pope delivers the killing blow to Jim, ending his rampage. As Pope holsters his weapon, Shevvy shoots Captain Mattelli in the head from an adjacent rooftop, killing him.