Heat

In a Las Vegas bar, D.D. sits with her meek date Osgood until a tough drunk flirts and then gets loud. Osgood punches the aggressor and makes him apologize, revealing that the drunk is Nick Escalante. The moment introduces Nick as a dangerous, capable figure beneath a mundane surface.

Nick explains that he markets himself as a chaperone but is really a bodyguard-for-hire who lives by risk. He reveals his long-term goal: to accumulate enough money to move to Venice, Italy. This establishes his personal stake and willingness to take dangerous jobs for pay.

Cyrus Kinnick, a wealthy but meek young man, approaches Nick after the Vegas incident, claiming he wants a companion for gambling but clearly seeking a lesson in toughness. Nick agrees to take him on as a student, pulling Kinnick deeper into his violent world.

Nick learns that his prostitute friend Holly has been brutally beaten on a date with Danny DeMarco, a Vegas high roller with mob connections. He vows to help Holly seek revenge and enlists Baby, a local crime boss, to gain access to DeMarco's hotel suite.

Using Baby's network, Nick gains access to DeMarco's hotel suite where Holly's assault occurred. Inside, he confronts Kinlaw and Tiel and fends them off with improvised blades. DeMarco offers $20,000 as restitution, but Nick presses him and refuses to back down.

Holly arrives and exacts brutal punishment on DeMarco, underscoring the real danger behind his 'great game.' Nick negotiates the terms of money with DeMarco, refusing Holly's half and accepting the funds through a middleman; Holly later passes $10,000 to a man to deliver to Nick. The tension around money deepens Nick's entanglement with the Vegas mob.

Nick takes a liking to Kinnick and starts mentoring him, giving pointers on self-defense and how to project toughness. Their bond grows as Kinnick absorbs Nick's hard-edged philosophy and training. This mentorship expands Nick's influence beyond the immediate revenge plot.

With Holly's money in play, Nick plays blackjack and wins enough to contemplate retirement in Venice. Kinnick begins to realize that Nick's dream to leave Vegas is entangled with a dangerous gambling habit. Nick's next move hinges on the next big win that might never come.

Feeling the lure of one more big score, Nick returns to the casino and loses it all. The fortune that could have funded Venice slips away, and his dream grows more distant. This relapse cements his status as a man who cannot easily walk away from danger or money.

DeMarco reports to Baby that Kinlaw and Tiel are dead and claims Nick killed them with their own guns. Baby suspects falsehoods in DeMarco's tale and questions his reliability. The stage is set for a final confrontation built on manipulation and fear.

DeMarco defies Baby's orders and brings more thugs to Nick's office. Nick kills the attackers, aided by a gravely injured Kinnick who sacrifices himself to slow the pursuers. A long chase leads to a power outage in DeMarco's suite, leaving Nick to close in on the criminal in the dark.

In the climactic exchange, Nick taunts DeMarco about torture and DeMarco fires blindly before killing himself. The film ends with two alternate cuts: one showing Nick in a sunny Venice gondola, another showing Kinnick alive in a hospital, leaving Nick's ultimate fate open to interpretation.