The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs offices that might clear him, he takes everyone in the office hostage and demands that another well-known negotiator be brought in to handle the situation and secretly investigate the conspiracy.
A trio of desperate men are forced to participate in a nightmarish game of blackjack for their souls. The circumstances behind how these fellows wound up in purgatory are revealed in three individual segments: Two vicious hoodlums break into the basement dwelling of an old hermit who isn't nearly as harmless as he appears to be; an unscrupulous entertainment lawyer gets more than he bargained for when he decides to steal several songs from a deceased blues singer; and a young ex-con agrees to help a scuzzy drug dealer rob a pharmaceutical lab in order to save his girlfriend from the clutches of said dope pusher.
A government program poisons millions. An immune grandfather-granddaughter duo survive, hunted by ruthless scalpers and an official determined to save his son, leading to a fight for survival amidst the chaos.
