Plot Summary
Neil McCauley is a professional thief based in Los Angeles. He and his crew – right-hand man Chris Shiherlis, enforcer Michael Cheritto, driver Gilbert Trejo, and newly hired hand Waingro – rob $1.6 million in bearer bonds from an armored car. During the heist, Waingro kills a guard without provocation, forcing the crew to eliminate the other two guards. Later, McCauley prepares to kill Waingro in retaliation for the deaths of the guards, but he escapes.
LAPD Lieutenant Vincent Hanna and his team investigate the robbery. Hanna, a dedicated lawman and former Marine, has a strained relationship with his third wife Justine, and struggles to connect with his stepdaughter, Lauren. McCauley, who lives a solitary life, begins a relationship with Eady, a graphic designer.
McCauley's fence, Nate, suggests he sell the stolen bonds back to their original owner, money launderer Roger Van Zant. Van Zant pretends to agree but instead arranges an ambush. Anticipating a trap, McCauley and his crew counter-ambush and kill the hitmen. Afterwards, McCauley calls Van Zant and vows revenge. An informant of the LAPD connects Cheritto to the robbery, and Hanna's team begins monitoring him, leading to the rest of the crew and their next target, a precious metals depository. Hanna's team stakes out the depository, but when a careless officer makes a noise, McCauley aborts the heist.
McCauley's crew agree to one last bank robbery worth $12.2 million. Hanna tracks McCauley and pulls him over on the 105 Freeway, inviting him to coffee. They discuss their dedication to their respective jobs and the limitations of their personal lives; Hanna describes his failing marriage and McCauley confides that he is similarly isolated. Though they admit their respect for one another, both acknowledge that they will kill the other if necessary. Waingro makes a deal with Van Zant to help eliminate McCauley's crew. Trejo quits the bank robbery at the last moment, claiming the LAPD is following him too closely. McCauley recruits an old colleague, Don Breedan, to take Trejo's place as the getaway driver, and the crew carries out the heist.
Acting on a tip from Van Zant's bodyguard, the LAPD intercepts the crew as they leave the bank, leading to a massive shootout. Breedan and Cheritto are killed, while McCauley escapes with a wounded Shiherlis. McCauley takes Shiherlis to a doctor to treat his wounds and leaves him with Nate. Suspecting Trejo tipped off the LAPD, McCauley arrives at his house to confront him, but finds him mortally wounded and his wife killed. Trejo reveals Waingro and Van Zant forced him to divulge the bank heist plans before asking McCauley to kill him. McCauley breaks into Van Zant's mansion and shoots him dead.
Upon learning of McCauley's connection to Waingro and that the latter is hiding in a hotel, Hanna decides to use Waingro as bait to lure McCauley. As McCauley prepares to flee the country, Eady discovers his criminal identity, but agrees to go with him. Before escaping, Shiherlis attempts to reconcile with his wife Charlene, who has been forced by the LAPD to bring him in. As Shiherlis encounters Charlene at her safe house, she warns him away with a hand gesture, and he escapes.
Having separated from Justine, Hanna finds Lauren has attempted suicide in his own hotel room and rushes her to the hospital; he reconciles with Justine after they learn that Lauren has survived, although they both agree that their relationship will never work. McCauley drives to the airport with Eady, but when Nate gives him Waingro's location, he abandons his usual caution to seek revenge. McCauley infiltrates the hotel, pulls the fire alarm, bursts into Waingro's room and kills him. As McCauley returns to Eady, he is spotted by Hanna. McCauley abandons Eady, fleeing onto the tarmac at the airport, pursued by Hanna. The two stalk each other, and Hanna shoots McCauley in the chest. Hanna takes McCauley's hand as McCauley dies of his wounds.