Boomer (Wiper) is a rookie cop based in the urban hellhole that is downtown Chicago. After his involvement in a drug bust operation which results in the death of Carlos (Carmen Argenziano), his mentor and father figure, Boomer becomes disillusioned with the brutal and inhumane nature of his job. Consequently, he decides to hand in his resignation to the Chicago Police Department and return to his home town of Joliet, where his fiancé, Kelly (Natasha Henstridge), awaits.While en route back to Joliet, however, Boomer makes a grievous error in judgment when he stops for, and assists, an unfortunate motorist whose vehicle appears to have broken down; the naive ex-cop is swiftly attacked and rendered unconscious. Boomer awakes to find that his car and wallet have been stolen, and that he has become involved in a dangerous game of mistaken identity.
Nach zwölf Jahren im Dienst hängt Detective Boomer vom Chicago Police Department desillusioniert die Marke an den Nagel und beschließt, zur Jugendliebe auf's Land zurückzukehren. Die Fahrt dorthin gerät unversehens zur lebensgefährlichen Odyssee, als Boomer schon wenige Kilometer hinter der Stadt beraubt und im folgenden von FBI und Gangstern mit einem korrupten FBI-Agenten verwechselt wird. Unterstützung findet er schließlich in der Frau des echten Gesuchten. Gemeinsam gelingt es dem unfreiwilligen Duo, die Verfolger nach und nach auszutricksen.
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.