Finch and Micah are fellow inmates who successfully escape together from prison. Micah is a magician and illusionist who, some twenty years earlier, pulled off a remarkable diamond heist. Now, with Finch's help, he's going back for the jewels. To forge a new identity, Finch must break into the apartment of a homicide victim - Cletis Tout - and find his passport. Cletis was a sleazy tabloid reporter who captured the murder of a prostitute on videotape. His possession of that tape cost him his life. The thugs who were assigned to kill Cletis learn that they killed the wrong guy. When they go back to finish the job, they mistake Finch for their target, and Critical Jim - a hit man with a passion for film - is hired to find and kill him. Jim finally takes Finch captive and waits for the word to shoot him. Now Finch's only hope is to relate a story so enthralling, so perfect, that Critical Jim will spare his life - at least for a little while longer.
