- When two married business executives having an affair are blackmailed by a violent criminal, the two must turn the tables on him to save their families.
- Chicago advertising executive Charles 'Chaz' Schine is mentally worn down by his useless teacher wife Deanna and their equally ingrate daughter Amy, whose bad diabetes requires experimental, uncovered treatment that would exhaust their life savings. When foxy investment adviser Lucinda Harris volunteers to pay his ticket when he arrives on the commuter train without cash, they soon start an affair. Taking her to a tacky hotel, they are held at gunpoint by thug 'Frencie' LaRoche, who rapes her having knocked Chaz down, robs their wallets and calls him afterward, blackmailing a small fortune not to tell his wife. Paying through equally abusive Dexter only incurs more demands and abuse, until Chaz brings along ex con office mail boy Winston Boyko, who promises to scare LaRoche away, but is shot by him., leaving Chaz to deal with the corpse and police detective Church, a friend of Winston's. Only when bled dry, Chaz finds out Lucinda is a stolen identity, part of an elaborate setup. His ill-planned vengeance, as lawyer friend Jerry sees no legal way without timely complaints from him and Lucinda, starts a cycle of bloodshed and other unpleasant surprises for most involved.—KGF Visser
- Charles is worn down by his home life where he and his wife struggle to cope with the demands of their daughter's illness and his job. When he meets Lucinda on the train to work in Chicago, there is an immediate spark between them. Soon they are doing lunch; dinner and drinks follow. This leads to an adulterous rendezvous in a hotel. However, no sooner have they torn each other's clothes off than their room is invaded by a thief who beats Charles and rapes Lucinda. Because of the illicit nature of their relationship, Charles agrees with Lucinda who is reluctant to go to the police and soon finds he is powerless to resist the demands of the thief.—johnno.r@xtra.co.nz
- In Chicago, while traveling in a commuting train from the suburbs to downtown, the publicist Charles Schine meets the married executive Lucinda Harris and starts a conversation after an incident with him. Charles is married, has a worn out marriage with his wife Deanna Schine and they have been saving money for years for their diabetic daughter that needs a transplantation of kidney associated to a new expensive experimental drug. A couple of days later, Charles invites Lucinda for lunch, then for some drinks and finally they begin an affair and decide to go to a cheap hotel. The room is invaded by a thief, Laroche, who steals the couple and rapes Lucinda. A couple of days later, Charles is blackmailed, but Lucinda is reluctant of going to the police since she does not want to lose the custody of her daughter. When Laroche menaces Charles' family, the executive tries to solve the problem and the situation gets completely out of control.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Charles Schine (Clive Owen) is a Chicago advertising executive, whose tale is being written down by an unidentified man in a prison cell. A flashback of several months shows Charles with his wife and teenage daughter. Charles's marriage is deteriorating, and his daughter suffers from diabetes, requiring expensive medication.
On a commuter train, Charles encounters an alluring woman named Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston). She is a married financial adviser. A mutual attraction develops, and the two begin meeting frequently. Ultimately, they decide to consummate their affair and wind up in a seedy hotel. An armed man- later identified as Philippe LaRoche (Vincent Cassel)- bursts into the hotel room, beats Charles, and brutally sexually assaults Lucinda. Charles and Lucinda agree not to report the crime, as they do not want their spouses to learn of the affair. Shortly after, Charles is blackmailed by LaRoche, who threatens to kill his family if he doesn't pay $20,000, which Charles promptly pays. A month later, the attacker calls again, this time demanding $100,000.
Charles tells Winston Boyko (RZA), an ex-con, about LaRoche and asks for advice. Winston offers to scare LaRoche away in return for 10% ($10,000) of LaRoche's demand. Charles embezzles the $10,000 from his employer. However, LaRoche shoots Winston dead. Charles is questioned by detective Franklin Church (Giancarlo Esposito) about Winston's murder. Later, he receives a call from LaRoche: He has Lucinda at gunpoint and will kill her if Charles doesn't bring the $100,000 immediately. Charles takes the money from an account meant specifically for his daughter's medical treatment; the payoff complete, he and Lucinda say a tortured goodbye.
When he stops by Lucinda's office and asks for her, he is shown a woman who is the actual Lucinda Harris. The woman whom he met on the train is really Jane, a temporary employee, who was impersonating Lucinda. Charles realizes Jane was in on the scam. He tracks her down and sees her kissing LaRoche. Determined to retrieve his stolen $100,000, he follows Jane's moves and sees that she has suckered another unsuspecting businessman. He returns to the hotel where Jane, LaRoche, and their partner Dexter (Xzibit) are setting up their new mark. Jane and the businessman go inside the room; Charles waits for LaRoche to approach and knocks him unconscious before he enters.
He breaks in and demands the return of his money. A gunfight ensues and everyone gets shot but Charles. After the melee, Charles watches the false Lucinda die and leaves with his briefcase, which still contains his money.
Charles is arrested for embezzling the $10,000 that he paid Winston and is sentenced to six months of community service teaching. During one of his classes, he comes across the story about him that was being written at the beginning of the film. The unknown writer instructs him to go to the laundry room-there, he finds LaRoche, who survived the gunfight. LaRoche threatens to continue interfering with his life, but Charles stabs him to death. As he leaves, he encounters Detective Church. Though suspicious of Charles, he lets him return home to his wife and daughter.
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