The Driver operates as a renowned car thief who supplies getaway vehicles for robberies around Los Angeles. Known among criminals for unmatched driving skill and a hefty price, he is also a focal point for the police, especially the detective who becomes obsessed with capturing him, nicknaming him “Cowboy.”
Everything starts with a casino job where the Driver’s team is delayed, and he is spotted by The Player. The detective asks The Player to identify the Driver, but she refuses. The Driver later visits The Player’s apartment to settle his earnings, only to be interrupted by the Detective who looms over her and alludes to a troubled criminal past.
The Detective stages an illegal sting and presents a high-stakes deal: three jailed criminals—Glasses, Teeth, and Fingers—along with their driver, The Connection, will offer to hire the Driver for a bank heist and then hand him over to the police, in exchange for their freedom. They seek The Driver through The Connection, the intermediary and fence who manages their legitimacy. The Driver initially rejects the proposal, citing a distaste for firearms, but agrees to meet. When his driving prowess is questioned, he demonstrates it by methodically wrecking the criminals’ car in a controlled display, making it clear he will not be bound to their gang. Later, Teeth returns to press him again, even threatening him with a gun. The Driver challenges Teeth to shoot, defeats him, and leaves him beaten.
The Detective, meanwhile, taunts the Driver from a rented room and dares him to participate in the “game.” Aware of the setup, the Driver still consents, but with two conditions: his fee must be doubled, and Teeth must be kept out of the plan.
During the actual heist, Glasses murders Fingers and escapes with the Driver. Rather than delivering the Driver to the police, Glasses aims to kill him and run away with the money. The Driver counters with a gun and kills Glasses, then tucks the cash into a locker at Union Station. He enlists The Connection to launder the dirty money and recruits The Player to retrieve the funds once they’re clean. Teeth soon learns of Glasses’s fate and interrogates The Connection at gunpoint, executing her after she leaks The Driver’s plan.
At the train station, The Exchange Man places the clean money in a locker and boards a train with the dirty money. The Detective trails him and shoots him dead in a confrontation. Teeth then steals The Player’s purse, which contains the key to the clean money locker. Teeth and his driver, The Kid, are chased by the Driver and The Player in a tense car pursuit that ends in a warehouse showdown. The Driver charges headfirst into Teeth’s vehicle, causing it to flip, and Teeth is killed when he refuses to surrender. The Kid manages to return the purse and is permitted to go free.
Back at the train station, The Driver retrieves the bag from the locker, but The Detective and several officers are waiting. The bag is empty—the money has been ripped off by The Exchange Man. The Player departs, and The Driver exits with The Detective “holding the bag” as everyone disperses.
In the end, the film paints a cold, intricate portrait of trust, cunning, and the high price of loyalty in a world where every move could be your last—and the money, like the fate of the players, may vanish in an instant. The pursuit threads through casino floors, rail yards, and desolate warehouses, leaving behind a trail of tension, double crosses, and a final image of everyone walking away, carrying their own version of the bag that binds them to the game.
