Earl Macklin robs a bank owned by the mob, serves his prison time and is released, only to start a private war against the crime outfit that owned the bank.
A small-time criminal, named Macklin's released from prison, and discovers his brother has been killed by a pair of mob killers. What he didn't know was the bank his brother robbed was owned by the syndicate. When he's almost hit by a killer, he pays mobster, Jake Menner a visit and demands reparation.—Tom Zoerner <[email protected]>
A man called Ed Macklin is murdered at home by two hitmen from the mobster organization The Outfit. Soon his brother Earl Macklin is released from prison and while in a motel with his girlfriend Bett Harrow, is shot by a hitman. He escapes and Bett discloses that she was tortured by The Outfit that wants to kill him since he robbed a bank owned by the mobsters with his brother and his friend Jack Cody. Earl decides to revenge his brother and meets Cody to rob The Outfit members. When The Outfit leader Mailer promises a reparation but double-crosses Earl, he decides to go further in his payback time.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A pair of hit-men drive to Eddie Macklin's house and kill him as he builds a brick wall in his backyard. Eddie's brother Earl (DUVALL) is released from prison in Illinois after a 27-month term for carrying a concealed weapon. His girlfriend Bett (BLACK) picks him up and takes him to a motel. She informs Earl of his brother's execution by the Outfit. Earl realizes that the motel stay is a setup, and when one of the hit-men who killed his brother bursts into the room, Earl ambushes him and tortures him for information.
Macklin lets the hit-man live and sends him back to Chicago as a warning. Bett confesses that the Outfit tortured her and threatened to cut her face up if she didn't lure Earl to the motel. His next move is to rob a poker game where Outfit member Jake Menner (CAREY) is playing. Menner explains that the bank that Eddie and Earl robbed together was an Outfit cover, so the contract on the two of them is simple retribution. Macklin calculates that the Outfit owes him $250,000 for the trouble it has caused him. He says whatever he earns by ripping off the Outfit's operations in the meantime is just gravy. Then, he shoots Menner in the hand as revenge for the treatment of Bett.
Menner tells his boss Mailer (RYAN) that the Outfit has a problem, but Mailer insists that it is Menner's problem to solve. The hit-men who killed Eddie are sent to kill Macklin's old partner Cody (BAKER) at a diner that he owns. Cody gets them to leave by pointing out that the town sheriff is there; then he and Macklin hatch a plan to keep robbing the Outfit, using Bett as a driver. Their next target is a dive restaurant that does not even have a safe. On their way out with the money, the cook throws his cleaver at Cody and three gunmen lie in wait outside the restaurant. Bett mows two of them down and the trio escapes.
Macklin and Cody go to Chemey to get a new car, since theirs has been made. Chemey's sister-in-law makes a pass at Cody. When he turns her down, she claims that he tried to rape her. That causes a physical confrontation that Chemey manages to deflate, allowing Cody and Macklin to leave in their new car.
Their next target is a much bigger operation. Cody poses as a mailman, and Macklin as a maintenance man. They knock out a secretary and make their way into a warren of back rooms where they rob the safe. Macklin and Cody then corner Mailer at a horse auction. He amiably agrees to pay the $250,000, but he warns Macklin to stop knocking off his businesses.
Mailer is furious that Macklin was able to be "close enough to touch" him. He orders him killed. At the payoff, Macklin quickly realizes it is a setup and that the briefcase is filled with newspaper instead of money. He and Cody manage to escape by tripping a fire alarm, enraging Mailer further.
Cody and Macklin plan an assault on Mailer's well-guarded home. Cody warns that it will be easy to get in but nearly impossible to get out. They hijack one of the Outfit's cars and use it to get past the gates. Inside the house, Cody plants a bomb under a table. The duo goes upstairs to hunt for Mailer, who spies Cody in his shaving mirror. He manages to ambush Cody, shooting him in the gut. Macklin is waiting for Mailer in the hallway --- the still-conscious Cody shoots Mailer in the back, then Macklin finishes Mailer.
Once the bomb goes off, Macklin puts on a white medical coat and helps Cody out of the house. The police, fire department, and an ambulance have arrived. Posing as a medic, Macklin puts Cody into the back of an ambulance, and they laugh about how easy it was to escape.
