Plot

A group of criminals are brought together under mysterious circumstances and have to work together to uncover what's really going on when their simple job goes completely sideways.

Three career criminals are hired to perform what appears to be a relatively quick and simple operation: hold an accountant's wife and children hostage while he fetches a document from his boss's office. However, things unravel pretty quickly and it appears that there are greater forces at work.—grantss

In 1950s Detroit, gangster Curt Goynes, in need of cash to leave town, is recruited to threaten a family as part of a blackmail scheme, along with gangsters Ronald and Charley. The recruiter, Doug Jones, sends them to the house of an accountant, Matt, where they are to hold the family hostage while sending Matt to the office where he works, to retrieve a document from his boss' safe but finds it empty. A desperate Matt brings fake documents to Doug, then returns home where Charley prepares to execute the entire family, to the surprise of Curt and Ronald. Not wanting to be part of a massacre, Curt shoots and kills Charley.

Doug phones the house, having discovered the documents are fake. He orders Curt to kill the family and Ronald. Instead, Curt and Ronald leave after Curt instructs the family to tell the police that Charley was alone and that Matt killed Charley in self defense. The police detective, Joe Finney, is skeptical of the family's story. Once the police leave, Curt, Ronald and Matt go to Matt's boss' house and retrieve the real document, which turns out to be plans for a new car part. Curt and Ronald discover they have a high bounty placed on their heads, and make plans to ascertain what the document is worth by arranging a meeting with Frank Capelli, the mob leader who contracted the blackmail scheme and with whose wife, Vanessa, Ronald is having an affair. Curt makes further arrangements with mob leader Aldrick Watkins, to take part of the eventual payment in order to clear Curt with Watkins, with whom he is on the outs.

Doug, Curt and Ronald have a meeting with Frank. Curt deduces that the value of the document vastly exceeds the amount they considered it was worth. Frank attempts to use Doug to kill Curt and Ronald, resulting in Doug's death. Frank flees, only to be caught by Curt and Ronald who extract the name of his contact. Curt calls the contact, Naysmith, who works for Studebaker Automobiles, and arranges to sell him the document for $125k. Frank escapes, but when he returns home, a battered Vanessa shoots and kills him. Seeking a bigger payday, Ronald and Curt return to Matt's boss and extract the name of the document's owner. Curt and Ronald meet with arrogant automobile industry executive "Mr. Big" at a downtown hotel, who is willing to pay $375k to retrieve the document. The document is revealed to be plans for a catalytic converter, seeking to conceal its existence from public knowledge and avoid governmental pressure on the car companies to implement pollution controls.

After Mr. Big leaves, Curt and Ronald attempt to split the money but are interrupted by Watkins and his men, who have already retrieved the $125K from Naysmith. Ronald is allowed to leave with the $375k, but Watkins takes Curt away at gunpoint. Watkins and his men are stopped outside the hotel by Detective Finney and his men, but he bribes the detective with $50K of the Naysmith money to let them leave with Curt. Ronald flees the city with Vanessa, but when they leave the main road to avoid a potential pursuer, she kills him and claims the money for herself. As she drives away, Vanessa is stopped by a police officer who takes the money and allows her to leave. Detective Finney privately returns the money to Mr. Big, including the $50K he received from Watkins. Watkins leaves Curt in Kansas City with a small cut of the Naysmith money, revealing he made a deal with him, but led Finney to believe he would be killed.