| Director | Joel Schumacher |
|---|---|
| Budget | $45 million |
| Box office | $117.6 million |
Eleven-year-old Mark Sway and his little brother Ricky are smoking cigarettes in the woods near their Memphis trailer home when they encounter mob lawyer W. Jerome Clifford attempting suicide. Mark sneaks up to the back of Clifford's car to remove a hose from the exhaust pipe, which is funnelling carbon monoxide into the car.
Clifford discovers Mark and pulls him into the car to die with him. He tells the boy that he is about to kill himself to avoid being murdered by Barry "The Blade" Muldano, the nephew of notorious mob kingpin Johnny Sulari. Mark grabs a gun from the car seat, but Clifford takes it away from him. As he shoots the car window, Mark manages to escape with Ricky. Clifford chases them but stops at a cliff, puts the gun in his mouth, and pulls the trigger.
Ricky becomes catatonic after witnessing the suicide and is hospitalized at Saint Peter Charity Hospital. There, Mark sees the news of the incident on TV and starts shaking. Authorities – and the mob – realize that Clifford may have told Mark where Louisiana Senator Boyd Boyette, murdered by Muldano, is buried.
Mark meets Regina "Reggie" Love, a lawyer and recovering alcoholic, who agrees to represent him. They quickly run afoul of "Reverend" Roy Foltrigg, a celebrated and vain US attorney who is using the case as a springboard for his political ambitions.
In the meantime, it is revealed that Sulari never authorized Muldano to kill the senator. Therefore, Sulari wants him to uncover how much the boys know. Muldano is also ordered to move the senator's body; however, he is unable to do so because it is buried in Clifford's boathouse and police are still on the property investigating the suicide.
Foltrigg continues to use legal tactics in an attempt to pressure Mark into revealing where the body is hidden. Sulari orders Muldano to kill the children and Reggie. He also orders the body to be moved once the investigation at Clifford's home is concluded. After Mark is threatened in a hospital elevator by Mafia member Paul Gronke, he is unable to talk to Foltrigg.
Mark and Reggie go to New Orleans to confirm that the body is on Clifford's property. Reggie intends to use this information to broker a deal with Foltrigg to get Ricky specialized medical care and place the family in the witness protection program. Reggie and Mark arrive at Clifford's house the same night as Muldano and his accomplices, who are in the process of digging up the body. A chaotic confrontation ensues when Mark and Reggie are discovered, but Muldano and his men quickly flee after Reggie triggers the neighbors' alarm. Foltrigg agrees to Reggie's demands in exchange for information about the body's location. Before the Sway family leaves to restart their lives under new identities, Mark and Reggie share a heartfelt goodbye.
While Muldano gets angry at his fellow mob members for messing up, Sulari becomes fed up with Muldano and sends him off to be killed. With the senator's body recovered, Foltrigg is a shoo-in for the media headlines he craves. He mentions that he intends to run for governor.