Detective Rick Santoro (Nicolas Cage) has never played by the rules. When he attends a high-profile boxing match with his friend Navy Cmdr. Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise), as well as Defense Secretary Kirkland (Joel Fabiani), he witnesses a terrorist assassinate Kirkland. Despite a lockdown on the arena, key witness Julia Costello (Carla Gugino) escapes -- and Santoro begins to suspect Kirkland's death is part of a much larger conspiracy that involves boxing rivals and a beautiful stranger.