| Director | Andrew V. McLaglen |
|---|---|
| Budget | $1.2 million |
In Los Angeles, trade union lawyer named Walter Deaney kills a burglar in his house. Only an unorthodox plainclothes detective named Mitchell believes that Deaney is guilty of something more than self-defense, but police chief Albert Pallin tells him that Deaney is wanted for "every federal law violation in the book" and is therefore "FBI property."
To keep Mitchell away from Deaney, the Chief orders him to stake out the home of James Arthur Cummins, a wealthy man with ties to the mob whose "big scene" is the import and export of stolen merchandise. Mitchell initially is unconcerned with Cummins and focuses primarily on Deaney. But he gets drawn in after Cummins discovers that Salvatore Mistretta, cousin of his mafioso benefactor Tony Gallano, is bringing in a shipment of stolen heroin from Mexico without Cummins' approval.
Meanwhile, a high-priced escort named Greta shows up at Mitchell's apartment. Mitchell allows her to come in, and after spending two nights with her and arresting her for possession of marijuana, he discovers that Deaney is paying her $1,000 per night to entertain Mitchell. After unsuccessfully trying to bribe Mitchell with Greta's services and an offer of an illicit real estate deal, Deaney decides to work with Cummins to eliminate the annoying cop. Deaney and a henchman drive dune buggies and try to run down Mitchell in a secluded area but each are taken down by Mitchell, who kills one with a rock while Deaney is killed when the dune buggy goes out of control with Mitchell in pursuit.
Cummins refuses to let Mistretta use his port facilities to bring in the shipment, causing Gallano to send thugs to harass him. Cummins decides that the only ally he still has—aside from his faithful butler and bodyguard, Benton—is Mitchell, because he's no good to the police dead. In exchange for his own freedom, Cummins offers to allow Mitchell to pose as a chauffeur and pick up the shipment, putting him in a position to both confiscate the drugs and arrest Mistretta. However, Cummins double-crosses Mitchell by alerting Mistretta to his real identity. He also double-crosses Mistretta by replacing the heroin with chalk. Mistretta decides to kill Mitchell and dump the body on Cummins' boat.
Mitchell soon triggers the car to explode and runs off from Mistretta and his men before a police helicopter arrives to drop a gun for Mitchell, who proceeds to kill Mistretta and his men, allowing Mitchell to go after Cummins, who is attempting to flee the country by sea. Mitchell is dropped onto the boat by helicopter and kills Benton with a gaff hook. Cummins is killed by Mitchell with an assault rifle after one final attempted double-cross fails.
Mitchell returns to his apartment to find Greta awaiting him. Mitchell brushes her off, pointing out that she is no longer being paid to keep him company. Despite this, Greta wishes to spend the night with Mitchell. However, he detects the scent of marijuana on her and Mitchell prepares to haul Greta off to jail for a second possession charge.