The film unfolds with a steady alternation between past events and the present, honoring a clear chronology that follows a seasoned career thief through a web of loyalties, betrayals, and high-stakes decisions. At the center is Jack Foley, a lifelong bank robber who ends up behind bars at a California penitentiary, Lompoc, after a heist goes sour and his partner-in-crime, Buddy, is betrayed by his sister. There, Foley crosses paths with other inmates and a conniving circle that includes the Ripley family’s wealthy, white-collar world. A chance encounter with Richard Ripley leads Foley to save him from a dangerous extortion attempt by a violent enforcer, Maurice “Snoopy” Miller, and Ripley hints at a future outside job—one that promises him access to a hidden stash of uncut diamonds at Ripley’s home.
Upon release, Foley makes a hard push to turn the outside opportunity into reality, but Ripley offers him only a menial security guard position. Frustrated, Foley confronts Ripley, who dismisses Foley’s criminal past with contempt and ejects him from the office. A failed impulse to rob a nearby bank reinforces Foley’s sense that his ambitions have outgrown the straightforward, low-rent scores of his past. After this setback, a misstep at the bank leads to another arrest and a transfer to Florida’s Glades Correctional Institution, where the story’s momentum begins to accelerate.
In Glades, Foley discerns that an inmate named Chino is orchestrating a breakout and quietly schemes to tag along. He calls his ex-wife Adele, a former magician’s assistant, to rally Buddy and Glenn for help. On the night of the escape, U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco arrives just as the prisoners tunnel toward freedom. In the ensuing chaos, Foley escapes in a guard’s uniform and overpowers Sisco, forcing her to hide with him in the trunk as Buddy drives away. In the cramped trunk, Foley and Sisco exchange measured, revealing conversations that hint at a complicated attraction and a growing, uneasy bond. They soon meet Glenn to switch cars, and Sisco, recognizing Foley from a prior transport job, convinces him to drive off with her so they won’t be arrested again. Foley’s plan falters, he panics, crashes the car, and makes his way to Miami, while Sisco ends up hospitalized after the encounter.
Sisco has a dream in which she tracks Foley, but instead of arresting him, she shares an intimate moment. The next day she resolves to pursue the fugitives with renewed vigor and, by interrogating Adele, she learns more about the breakout and its players. Her investigation leads to the capture of Chino, which earns her a coveted spot on the task force—though the lead agent keeps her on a short leash while the others raid Buddy’s hotel room. Foley and Buddy’s paths cross again in a bar elevator, and Sisco deliberately refrains from signaling the authorities, allowing them to slip away.
The fugitives set their sights on Detroit, where they plan a bold heist at Ripley’s estate. Miller, who has his own burglary crew with a ruthless edge, joins forces with Foley and Buddy to breach Ripley’s mansion and crack the safe upstairs. Meanwhile, Sisco, pursuing the trail, questions Miller’s wife Moselle and defends herself when Miller’s ally Kenneth attempts to assault her. The two narratives converge as Foley and Buddy locate Ripley in his study and discover that the supposed diamonds are hidden in a tropical fish tank. Ripley reveals a personal, fragile fixation—he is in love with his maid, Midge—and refuses to leave her behind. He is quickly captured by Miller’s group.
Choosing loyalty to Midge over escape, Foley makes a risky call: he hands the diamonds to Buddy and returns inside, where a tense shootout unfolds. He shoots Kenneth in the bedroom, but a freak accident sees White Boy Bob shoot himself in the head after slipping on the stairs. Sisco arrives and kills Miller in self-defense. With no intention of returning to prison, Foley confronts Sisco with an empty gun and begs her to kill him; she chooses restraint, shooting him in the leg and taking him into custody instead.
In the police van outside, Foley encounters a fellow escapee named Hejira Henry, who brags about nine prior escapes. The moment reveals a shared irony: Sisco has engineered the reunion as part of Foley’s return to Glades, sealing Foley’s fate as the van heads back to Florida, where the cycle of crime, pursuit, and uneasy alliance may begin anew. The story closes on Foley’s wary, wry smile as the vehicle pulls away, signaling a fragile sense of satisfaction amid a life defined by risk, calculation, and the ever-present lure of a more lucrative, more dangerous future.
