Jake Hoyt (Hawke) is tired of his quiet beat in a calm and serene suburb of Los Angeles. With the need for a challenge, he gets himself re-assigned to the narcotics division of the LAPD which enforces some of the cities grittiest areas. The catch is he has only one day to prove himself worthy of this world of undercover police investigation.

His trainer is Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris (Washington), a 13-year narcotics veteran who has long since blurred the line between legality and corruption. With Harris as his guide, Hoyt will be pulled ever deeper into the ethical mire of Alonzo's logic as the two risk life and career to serve their conflicting notions of justice.