This is the story of three different cops.
- Tango (Don Cheadle) is an undercover cop that has lost his mind from being in so long. He has the job of brining in Caz (Wesley Snipes) by setting up a drug deal. Tango does not want to do this because of Caz saving his life. Tango does set him up but changes his mind however he his 30 seconds too late Caz is shot anyway.
- Sal (Ethan Hawke) is a corrupt cop trying to get extra money for a new house and with his wife expecting twins he is under a lot of stress.
- Eddie (Richard Gere) retires after a hellish week on the job. He is not considered a good cop because he is just hanging out waiting for his pension. He tries to get his prostitute girlfriend to come with him, she refuses. While waiting outside of the prostitute's apartment after being turned down, he notices a woman being forced into a van who seems to be a drugged up sex slave whose picture was posted at his former precinct as a missing person. He noticed her earlier in the movie and decides to follow the van with the woman to the apartment complex.
At the complex, he rescues the girl and a couple of other women from a couple of thugs in the basement of the complex. At the end of the movie, he walks the girls to the cops who have gathered from the deaths of Tango and Sal. He explains who the women are to the cops and leaves. Surprisingly, Eddie lives after finally deciding to get involved after years of just getting by.