After landing in jail for stealing prawns (larger than shrimp), Alvin Sanders (JAMIE FOXX) is ready to go straight. If he can just get out and patch things up with his girlfriend Lisa (KIMBERLY ELISE), maybe he can start over and finally lead a normal life.

His first night in the slammer, Alvin shares a cell with John Jaster (ROBERT PASTORELLI), who was captured after he and his partner, Bristol (DOUG HUTCHISON), pulled off a high-tech gold heist from the Federal Reserve. With a weak heart and not long to live, Jaster gives Alvin a coded message for his wife - a message U.S. Treasury investigator Clenteen (DAVID MORSE) believes will lead to the location of the stolen gold.

In an attempt to draw Bristol out of hiding, Clenteen quickly arranges Alvin's early release, implants a tracking device on him and tips Bristol off that Alvin is about to make a run for the gold. Oblivious that he has now become bait for the feds, Alvin attempts to salvage his relationship with Lisa. However, between Alvin's brother, Stevie (MIKE EPPS), the devious Clenteen and the mysterious and very dangerous Bristol, he has little hope of staying out of trouble and is soon far worse off than if he'd just stayed put in jail.