Jim Davis (Christian Bale) is an ex-Army Ranger recently discharged from the military, yet still haunted by nightmares of his former occupation. He tells himself that if he only had a job, everything would turn around – he could marry his devoted girlfriend, Marta (Tammy Trull), bring her back to the United States from Mexico and settle down. While seeking a position with the LAPD, Jim hangs out with his best friend Mike (Freddy Rodriguez), who is feeling the heat from his longtime girlfriend, Sylvia (Eva Longoria): either get a job or get out. But the love of a beautiful woman can’t compare to the bonds of friendship, and Jim and Mike are soon cruising the streets of South Central, slipping back into a devious life of drugs, violence and petty crime, just like when they were kids. Without a moral compass to guide them, it is only a matter of time before these two misguided friends get lost along a destructive and explosive path from which there may be no turning back!