Treasury Agent Jimmy Mercer Wesley Snipes and his partner Brady are deep undercover when danger erupts: Mercer’s fellow agent is gunned down by a new threat, Ronnie Viggo Mortensen, summoned out of jail by the mobster Rudolph “Red” Diamond Dennis Hopper. In a burst of anger and a longing for revenge, Mercer resolves to track the killer down before he’s transferred to Newark, even as a close colleague insists on doing it “by the book.” Mercer’s stubborn reply cuts through the surface politeness with a chilling vow: > When I’m done with this motherfucker, I’m gonna put him in a box... by the book.
Against a backdrop of a fading era, the Palace—the grand dance emporium—faces a quiet closing as Red navigates a treacherous web of debts, double-crosses, and old loyalties. The world is lonely for Red, and he drifts toward his own dangerous comforts: Vikki Lolita Davidovich is a dancer and a confidante who shares a complicated, on-and-off relationship with Mercer, while Mona Valerie Perrine remains entangled with Red in a history of manipulation and betrayal.
Red’s mounting pressures from mob boss Tony Dio Tony Lo Bianco push him toward desperation. He coaxes Ronnie into a spree of crime, a reckless plan that culminates in the murder of Dio and a brutal raid on his apartment. Red orders Ronnie to meet at the Palace at 9 PM to divvy up the loot, and he also asks Mona to join them there, weaving together personal gambits and criminal plans in a single perilous night. Mercer, meanwhile, is quietly assembling his case, arriving at the murder scene just moments after the initial violence unfolds.
At the club, Red attempts a last-minute escape by manipulating Ronnie into a gunfight, ducking behind cover as chaos erupts. Ronnie is shot and killed by Mercer in a tense exchange, though the deadly confrontation leaves Brady gravely wounded. The police surround the club, thwarting Red’s possible getaway, and he is pulled away in a squad car as Mona watches from the street, powerless to intervene.
In the final beats, the film closes with a quiet, hopeful note: Jimmy and Vikki relocate to Newark, New Jersey, carving out a new life together, while Red is sentenced to life without parole for his crimes. The story blends hard-edged undercover work, loyalties stretched to the breaking point, and a Czech-molded sense of fate as each character threads through a night of danger, desire, and consequence.
Along the way, the film features a robust supporting cast that enriches the atmosphere with grounded performances, including Seymour Cassel, Jonathan Banks, James Tolkan, and Christine Elise in key, if often unseen, roles that deepen the texture of the world these characters inhabit. Their presence underlines the intersecting paths of crime, law, and everyday life that give the tale its pulse.
