Two friends in an East London flat, Riko and Kane, dream of being taken seriously as roadmen while shouldering a crippling debt of £15,000 to the Patel crime family. The weight of that debt presses on them daily, and when Kane fails to raise the money after a botched drug deal with a Somalian gang, leaving him beaten rather than paid, the two plunge into a plan‑after‑plan to settle the score.
Their first attempt is almost comically misguided: they try to sell a mobile phone to two men, but Kane mishears the word “strap” as a gun, which collapses into chaos. The second attempt is even more chaotic—an audacious bid to rob Lethal Bizzle himself. The plan backfires spectacularly, and the duo ends up knocked out, stripped, and humiliated on camera as a Link Up TV crew records the fiasco. The video instantly goes viral, turning their desperate scheme into a nationwide running joke and turning them into the butt of every joke online.
For a third attempt, they target a bank, hoping to erase their debt in one bold move. But the heist goes awry when they reveal their identities in a heated moment of tension. A man named Leo Demarco defies their commands and dares Riko to shoot him. After a tense exchange, Leo collapses from a heart attack, and the event earns Riko the nickname “Rambo Riko.” This moment attracts the attention of gang leader Shotti, who sees potential in the young men but also danger. He sends Riko, Kane, and a trusted associate named Dwayne to retrieve a bag of drugs and money from a nightclub, setting them on a path that will pull in more players and raise the stakes for everyone involved.
Amid the mounting pressure, care and affection creep into Riko’s world as he becomes smitten with a girl named Tamara. This budding romance adds another layer to his choices, pulling him toward a different path even as chaos swirls around him. A violent clash erupts between Riko, Kane, and members of a rival gang, but they emerge victorious and narrowly escape. In the aftermath, Riko opens up about his bipolar disorder to [Dwayne], and in turn, Dwayne reveals that he is autistic. The two form a quiet bond, and the conversation helps them recognize a shared humanity beneath their street‑wise bravado. They also realize they have forgotten the bag from the club, a realization that compounds the tension as they slip into a high‑stakes chase.
Their troubles intensify when a rogue, xenophobic police officer named Ian and his partner Bill close in. After a car crash, the pair is captured, while Dwayne manages to slip away. Back at the station, [Riko] talks to Tamara again, and Leo, who has woken from his heart‑related scare, expresses gratitude and hints at leaving the gangster life behind to seek a Christian path. But the tension between loyalty and consequences remains, and Tyreese—Tyreese—a volatile figure in Leo’s orbit, vows revenge on Riko. Tyreese’s manhunt intensifies when he targets Riko, even running a fellow officer over in a reckless mistake driven by anger and fear.
Despite the danger, Riko and Kane are released and return to [Shotti], confessing that they still owe money and admitting they forgot the bag. Shotti’s anger cools only enough to test their nerve: he agrees to let them tag along for a warehouse deal with Polish gangsters, a move that drags even more players into the escalating conflict. Meanwhile, Tamara reaches out with a call to meet—yet this is precisely the trap Tyreese has laid. At the warehouse, [Ian] and [Bill] appear in inept fashion as the Polish dealers, while Tyreese’s crew, Tamara, and Riko converge in a tense confrontation. Riko’s revelation to Tyreese—that he didn’t intend to hurt Leo—erupts into anger and pushes Shotti further toward cutting Riko loose.
The warehouse erupts into gunfire. The chaos intensifies as the police pen in Riko’s coat—equipped with a hidden microphone and GPS—leaks to everyone as the rumor that he’s working with the police spreads. Ian opens fire, and a brutal shootout ensues, with gang members dropping around them. In the confusion, Riko and Kane press on with Tamara’s help, trying to escape as Shotti is knocked out by [Dwayne]. Dwayne then makes a bold move, stealing Shotti’s bag of drugs and money, and the four flee as law enforcement storms in. DI Brookes ultimately arrives to scold Ian for going rogue and to terminate the officer’s career with a scathing sexual misconduct complaint, ending his dangerous streak.
The Patel family’s anger boils over when they track down Riko and Kane’s empty home and find that the pair have fled to the other side of the world, paid back in rupees rather than the promised cash. Enraged, the Patels plan their own revenge, and the group—Riko, Kane, Tamara, and Dwayne—decide to leave Britain behind for a fresh start in Los Angeles, seeking a life far from the escalating violence that followed them.
In a post‑credits moment, a chastened Shotti sits in a police interrogation room and watches a social media video showing Riko and Kane dancing with the money. The scene closes with Shotti glaring at the camera, a reminder that the fallout from their choices lingers long after the last gunshot fades.
