In Hollywood, California, U.S. treasury officers Jimmy Mercer and Brady wait in a motel room to make an arrest as their undercover partner, Russo, conducts a deal to buy counterfeit money. Meanwhile, a recently released ex-convict named Ronnie telephones to confirm the meeting with Russo. When Jimmy and Brady hear gunfire over their hidden microphones, they race to the motel room to find Russo murdered, while the buyer, Ronnie, has fled. Later, Ronnie and his partner, Rudolph “Red” Diamond, go to a bus terminal and put the briefcase containing $10,000 taken from Russo into a locker. Red convinces Ronnie that police will not be looking for him because the man he killed was a known criminal. He gives Ronnie $1,000, and tells him to go into hiding for a few days. Elsewhere, Jimmy Mercer visits the home of his former wife, Sally, and asks to see their son, J.C. When she turns him away because of the late hour, he tells her that his partner, Russo, was killed. Sally reluctantly lets Jimmy in to look at his sleeping son. Meanwhile, Red Diamond visits his estranged wife, Mona, at the diner where she works, and Ronnie visits his former girl friend, Carol. Red tells Mona he has changed after his five-year prison stint, and Ronnie tells Carol that prison has made him a better man. Both women are unconvinced. Mona insults Red for forcing her to prostitute herself to pay off his debts, but soon gives in to his charms and agrees to see him after work. They engage in sex, but afterward, Mona tells Red she never wants to see him again. Carol tells Ronnie to leave her apartment, and he slaps her face. However, before he goes, she kisses him. Sally tells her former husband, Jimmy, that her new boyfriend, Steven, is a good man, and that Jimmy’s lifestyle was too dangerous for her and J.C. In time, Red goes to a hotel to see a man named Tony Dio, and meets a high-class call girl named Vikki Dunbar in the lobby. He asks her for a date, but she declines. Red owes $50,000 to Tony Dio, and asks for a few more months to repay the debt. However, he is given only seven days to pay in full. In the same hotel, Jimmy Mercer meets with his supervisor, Jerry, and is told that his operation with Russo was not “by the book.” Consequently, Jimmy will be demoted and transferred to Newark, New Jersey. When Jimmy asks Jerry to delay the transfer until he can find the man who killed his partner, he is given a week. Afterward, Jimmy and Red stand side by side in the men’s room, unaware of the other’s identity. Jimmy and Brady resume their investigation, and learn that Ronnie had an accomplice. With no leads, Jimmy visits convicted counterfeiter, Freddy Roth, in prison, and asks him who has access to the stash of fake bills he left behind. Freddie gives up the name of his friend, Virgil Leach, as a possible lead. Jimmy tracks down Virgil at a bar, and arrests him for selling counterfeit money. Elsewhere, Red goes on a “date” with Vikki Dunbar, but instead of sleeping with the call girl, he takes her dancing. When Virgil Leach refuses to give up the names of anyone who has used the counterfeit money, Jimmy threatens to go after Virgil’s girl friend, Connie, but Virgil is apathetic and calls her a “junkie.” Jimmy and Brady raid Connie’s home but she refuses to talk until they play a tape recording of Virgil insulting her. Connie tells them about a man, nicknamed Red, who asked for samples of the counterfeit bills. After Vikki’s date with Red, she meets her on-again-off-again lover, treasury agent Jimmy Mercer. Jimmy shares that Russo was killed, and Vikki comforts him. She tells him about her unusual “date” that took her dancing. Afterward, Vikki and Jimmy have sex, and she asks him to take her dancing sometime. Red asks an old associate, attorney Max Waxman, to lend him $50,000, but Waxman refuses. Meanwhile, Jimmy scours the photos of every redheaded criminal in police files, and takes them to Connie’s home in an effort to obtain an identification. Through the window, he sees Virgil Leach’s girl friend, Connie, in a drug-induced state, sitting in her kitchen with the gas stove on. As she looks at Jimmy and Brady, she ignites a lighter and blows up her house. Red meets Ronnie, proposing another scam, and instructs him to visit Max Waxman. Ronnie makes a deal with Waxman to sell him $250,000 in counterfeit bills in exchange for $50,000. Sometime later, Ronnie meets Max’s henchman, Michael, to make the exchange. Ronnie murders Michael and takes the $50,000 to Red. However, Red counts the money and discovers they have been cheated, as Waxman has sent counterfeit bills. Jimmy Mercer arrives at the crime scene, certain the killer is the same man who killed Russo. When they link Michael to Max Waxman, Jimmy and Brady take Waxman for a car ride and question him about the redheaded man. Waxman threatens to report them for kidnapping, but finally relents and tells them about a conman he knows named Red Diamond. He reveals that a man named Ronnie had approached him with counterfeit money to sell, but Waxman was unaware, until that moment, that Red and Ronnie were working together. With one day left to pay, Red contacts Tony Dio and tells him he does not yet have the money he owes. Dio threatens to kill Red if he fails to pay. Red lies to Ronnie, saying that a man named Tony Dio witnessed Ronnie kill Russo, and Red encourages Ronnie to kill Dio to silence him. Jimmy and Brady stake out Red’s home, but he never returns. Later, Red takes Vikki Dunbar dancing again, then has sex with her. At night, Jimmy visits his former wife Sally, insisting they speak. However, when he sees his son in the arms of Sally’s boyfriend, Steve, he leaves. Jimmy searches for Vikki Dunbar and tells her he is quitting the force and leaving town after he finds Russo’s killer. Vikki asks about his son, and Jimmy tells her he realized the boy was better off with Sally. He asks Vikki to go away with him, but she tells him that running away never works, and tries to convince him not to leave the force. Elsewhere, Red visits Mona at the diner, and asks her to give him another chance. When she agrees, he invites her to go dancing at the Palace to celebrate. Jimmy and Brady follow Red as he leaves the diner and picks up Ronnie. Seeing Ronnie’s briefcase, Brady insists they make an arrest before someone gets killed. The officers follow Red and Ronnie into Tony Dio’s hotel. In the elevator, Red instructs Ronnie to meet him at the Palace after the murder. They break down the door of the penthouse, and Ronnie shoots Tony and his associate, while Red steals the money from the desk. They escape to the roof, as Brady and Jimmy enter. Red insists they separate and meet at the Palace to split the money. However, Red is captured and held at gunpoint by Jimmy and Brady. He tells them Ronnie is waiting for him at the dance hall, and they accompany Red there to capture Ronnie. Under police surveillance, Red signals Ronnie to join him on the balcony. Red spins the story, claiming that police followed Ronnie to the club. After Red points out the undercover officers, Ronnie draws his gun and fires, as Red takes cover. Ronnie is killed, and Red flees with the money. However, when Red gets to the door, he is met by officers and arrested. Mona arrives at the Palace and sees Red being taken away by police.