The Split

McClain and Gladys mastermind the daring heist and carefully select their partners. To test them, he forces getaway driver Harry Kifka to a race, picks a fight with Bert Clinger, imprisons electrical expert Marty Gough in a wire-controlled vault to watch him fashion an escape, and has a shooting match with Dave Negli before recruiting them. The crew is assembled for a high-stakes job in Los Angeles.

The robbery unfolds during a football game at the Los Angeles Coliseum, executed with careful timing to avoid intervention. The crew makes off with over $500,000 and disappears into the crowd. The success sets up the next day's plan to divide the loot.

With the job finished, the thieves plan to split the money six ways the next day, with Gladys financing the scheme. The group waits for the haul to be counted and distributed, each member anxious for their cut. The scheme hinges on trust and timing but is fragile by design.

McClain hides the loot for the night with Ellie, his ex-wife, keeping it out of sight until the distribution. The move shows McClain's reliance on a personal connection rather than a formal plan. The crew grows restless as the time approaches.

Ellie is attacked and killed by her landlord, Herb Sutro, who also steals the money. The murder shatters the plan and leaves the remaining thieves furious and desperate for answers. Brill soon begins to link Sutro to the crime and the broader robbery.

Lt. Walter Brill quickly connects Ellie’s murder to the robbery and makes Sutro the primary suspect. He tracks Sutro down, confronts him, and kills him, though he keeps the stolen money for himself. Brill’s actions escalate the tension between law and crime.

With Sutro dead and the money still missing, the remaining gang members suspect McClain of hiding the loot and demand that he retrieve it. They blame him for bungled distribution and the accompanying bloodshed. McClain must defend his role or face the gang’s wrath.

Tensions within the gang boil over in a confrontation that ends with the deaths of Negli and Gladys. The violence shatters any remaining trust and propels the survivors toward a final reckoning. The circle tightens around McClain as blame spreads.

McClain escapes danger and visits Brill, threatening to reveal that Brill has the money. The two men agree to divide the loot between themselves, but the rest of the gang has other ideas about what to do with it. The anticipated peace frays as loyalties crumble.

A shoot-out at the docks narrows the world to just McClain and Brill. Brill decides to take a small portion of the money for himself and intends to return the rest to win a promotion. McClain accepts the arrangement but remains haunted by Ellie's death.

With the money in hand, McClain is about to board a flight out of town, hoping to put the caper behind him. An off-screen female voice calls his name, interrupting the escape and hinting at unresolved consequences. The ending implies that fate—and Ellie's memory—will not let him go easily.

McClain remains haunted by Ellie's death as he weighs the price of his freedom. The voice at the end and the blood price of the loot cast a shadow over any future plans. The film closes on a note of unresolved fate and moral reckoning.