Tarnished Atlantic City police detective Rick Santoro (Nicolas Cage) joins his old friend, Navy Commander Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise), now a highly-placed Department of Defense staffer, at a heavyweight boxing match. When the Secretary is assassinated, the arena is sealed and the murder investigation begins. Temporarily in charge and seeking to salvage his friend’s career, Rick joins forces with Dunne to untangle the events leading to the assassination.

The events leading up to the assassination are replayed by the memories of each of the three primary witnesses, and as Rick puts the puzzle pieces together, he uncovers an intricate conspiracy. The burden of this knowledge forces Rick to come face to face with his own questionable past.