| Director | Miguel Hermoso |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy film, thriller film |
| Runtime | 112 min |
| Country | Spain, United States |
William 'Bill' Anderson, known locally as Commander, is living in Marbella where he has an apartment and a sailboat named High Tide. While fishing near a late-night party being hosted aboard the Five Angels yacht owned by Patrick Arnel, an illegal arms dealer, Commander spots Deborah falling from Patrick's yacht. He quickly dives off the deck of the High Tide and swims across to rescue her.
Unbeknownst to Commander, Deborah was romantically involved with Patrick, but she had broken off the relationship earlier that night aboard the Five Angels. Angered by her decision, Patrick exacts revenge by violently ramming his yacht into Commander's sailboat when he spots Deborah onboard.
Although she is badly shaken by the night's ordeals, Commander takes Deborah safely ashore, but she flees the scene on foot, leaving him perplexed by her erratic behaviour.
Commander then attempts to seek compensation for the damage to his sailboat, but due to numerous falsified witness statements provided to the court by Patrick, Commander fails. He complains to the local police inspector, Vargas, about the lack of justice, but Vargas implies that Commander was never likely to win against a ruthless individual like Patrick.
As Commander leaves the courthouse and walks to his car, he is approached by Deborah, who has been discreetly watching the courthouse from an outdoor cafe. Commander says he could have used her help as a witness in the case, but Deborah warns him that it is unwise to get involved in a feud with a gangster like Patrick.
Commander states that his life would have been better without her, but he offers Deborah a lift to wherever she may be going. Seeming lost and directionless after her split with Patrick, she refuses to leave when Commander asks her to get out of his car. Commander relents, and they drive back to his apartment, where they quickly become an item. As they lie side by side in bed, Commander contemplates methods of revenge against Patrick. Deborah warns him that he won't be able to do it alone, but they may have a chance if they combine forces.
With Commander's desire for vengeance and Deborah's intimate knowledge of Patrick's activities, Commander formulates a plan to swindle Patrick with the use of an impersonator, a forger and a pickpocket. He visits Inspector Vargas for help locating a skilled counterfeiter. Vargas refuses the odd request, causing Commander to declare that Vargas and the local police are afraid of Patrick and are incapable of bringing him to justice.
Commander then returns home, troubled by the cost of repairing the High Tide. He informs Deborah that they will have to sell his apartment and live permanently aboard Commander's sailboat instead. While explaining the predicament, Inspector Vargas arrives on their doorstep in an angry and drunken state. He supplies Commander with the details of a Madrid counterfeiter before staggering away.
Commander then briefly visits Geneva to open a Swiss bank account that will hold the funds he intends to fleece from Patrick.
Back in Marbella, Deborah states that she has located the counterfeiter in Madrid, who now works as a stamp dealer. Commander asks a local Marbella photographer, Gustavo, to begin gathering intelligence by filming Patrick's activities.
Commander then visits the Marbella bank where Patrick holds accounts. He peers into the bank's vault while Patrick is inside and takes note of which safe deposit box Patrick uses. The box serves as the temporary repository for the money Patrick earns from each arms deal. He conceals the money inside a briefcase that is stashed inside the safe deposit box until he can transfer the money to his secret bank account in Switzerland.
Commander then watches from his parked car while Patrick leaves the bank with the cash-filled briefcase. He tails Patrick through the traffic and sees the case being passed to a third party who drives to a location where the case gets concealed inside a nondescript sack that is put aboard Patrick's yacht, the Five Angels.
From there, the money is transported out of Marbella to be transferred to Patrick's Swiss account after each illegal arms deal.
Deborah then informs Commander that she has located a suitable disguise artist in Madrid to enlist. Commander goes to Madrid to find him and to visit the counterfeiter and stamp dealer, Herman Gomez. Commander asks Herman to demonstrate his forgery skills by copying Patrick's signature and asks for the name of a good local pickpocket. Herman recommends John, now homeless. They visit a Madrid clairvoyant who knows John's address, a run-down and disused local tenement. Herman convinces him to get involved in Commander's scheme.
Commander observes John's pickpocketing skill in a trial-run on a Madrid commuter train, but they disembark with Commander unconvinced of John's abilities until Herman points out that John successfully stole a passenger's wallet and placed it in Commander's jacket pocket.
Together the three then visit the seedy Madrid nightclub where the disguise artist Mario works. Mario refuses to get involved, fearful of doing something illegal. Commander bribes the nightclub owner to fire Mario. As he leaves the club jobless, Mario is confronted by the trio, who entice him financially.
With his team of accomplices now established, Commander convenes a meeting to explain his plan.