| Director | James B. Harris |
|---|---|
| Genre | action film, drama film, film based on a novel, thriller film |
| Runtime | 89 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $9 million |
| Box office | $10 million |
The film opens in Los Angeles with Treasury Agent Jimmy Mercer and his partner Brady doing some undercover work, when Mercer's fellow agent is shot and killed by a new man, Ronnie, whom criminal Rudolph "Red" Diamond pulled out of jail. Now on a snap of anger and thoughts of revenge, Mercer wants to find the killer and take him down before he gets transferred to Newark, New Jersey. Although a cop and close colleague claims over dinner that Mercer must do it "by the book", Mercer replies with, "When I'm done with this motherfucker, I'm gonna put him in a box..... by the book."
A background theme is the closing of a big band dance emporium called the Palace. Lonely, Red takes hooker Vikki there for dancing. Vikki is also involved romantically with Mercer, who is estranged from his ex-wife.
Red continues to try to build a relationship with his old girlfriend, waitress Mona. Typically, he has manipulated and betrayed her in the past.
Red is under increasing pressure to repay mob debts to boss Tony Dio. He manipulates Ronnie into a crime spree culminating in the murder of the boss and ransacking his apartment. He tells Ronnie to meet him at the palace at 9 PM to split up the money. He asks Mona to meet him there as well. Mercer is building his case against Red and arrives at the murder scene seconds too late. Red is soon arrested and a net is laid for Ronnie at the club.
At the club Red again manipulates Ronnie in an attempt to escape, yelling gun as he ducks. Ronnie is shot and killed by Mercer in the exchange, but not before Ronnie manages to seriously wound Brady. In the chaos, Red almost manages to escape but he is blocked by cops stationed outside the club. As Red is taken away in the police car, Mona arrives and sees him pass by in the car.
The epilogue reveals that Jimmy and Vikki moved together to Newark, while Red was sentenced to life without parole for his crimes.