One week in the life of three Brooklyn police officers proves to be an unpleasant slice of life, as their world revolves around the crime and drugs associated with the Van Dyke projects. Eddie (Richard Gere) needs only to survive one more week to be able to retire after so many years fighting crime and feeling despair, alleviated only by his ties to local prostitutes. On the other hand, Tango (Don Cheadle) must play the dangerous game of undercover cop, finding himself with too much sympathy for the bad guys like Caz (Wesley Snipes), but most tempted of all is Sal (Ethan Hawke) who finds that there is easy money to be made from drug dealers, thus accruing enough money to buy his family a new home. Their fates finally intertwine.