Synopsis
In 1972, eight-year-old Francis "Frankie" McGuire sees his father gunned down due to his Irish republican sympathies.. In September 1992, the grown-up Frankie (Brad Pitt), an I.R.A. gunman, initiates a shootout in Belfast with two others. One gunman, Desmond, is wounded as Frankie and the other gunman escaped. An SAS agent asks the wounded man where Frankie was. Desmond is shot by the murderous agent after he says "up your arse". Hiding in the countryside, Frankie and his friend Martin MacDuf (David O'Hara) see a British Army helicopter circling overhead and decide they need Stinger missiles. Five months later, Frankie, traveling as "Rory Devaney", is picked up at Newark Airport by IRA sympathizer Judge Peter Fitzsimmons (George Hearn), who has arranged for "Rory" to stay with New York police Sergeant Tom O'Meara (Harrison Ford), his wife, Sheila (Margaret Colin), and their three daughters. The judge gives Frankie a handgun.
Rory meets with his friend Sean Phelan (Paul Ronan), another I.R.A. gunman, who is enjoying a peaceful life and has secured a large fishing boat, which they will sail back to Ireland with the missiles. Rory meets with Billy Burke (Treat Williams), a bar owner and black market weapons dealer. He agrees to purchase the weapons with his own money, waiting for Frankie to pay him on delivery in six to eight weeks.
Judge Fitzsimmons has his family's nanny deliver the bag of money he has raised to Frankie. The nanny is Megan Doherty (Natascha McElhone), the younger sister of one of Frankie's many deceased friends. During an Irish celebration of the Confirmation of one of Tom's daughters, Megan phones Rory to tell him Martin has been killed and that the deal with Burke has to be put on hold.
Meanwhile, Tom is having problems of his own. One morning he and his partner, Eddie Diaz (Rubén Blades), see a man breaking into a car, and they chase him down the street. The man shoots at them, then throws the gun away. Tom collects the gun, but Eddie chases the now-unarmed suspect into an alley and shoots him. In the investigation of the incident, Tom lies for Eddie, who is close to retirement, but he tells Sheila that the guilt makes him decide to retire as well.
When Tom and Sheila arrive home that afternoon, they find masked intruders. Tom grapples with them while Sheila calls 9-1-1. Rory arrives and fights too, but one of them has a gun and grabs Sheila. As sirens are heard, Tom persuades them to leave, emphasizing no one has been hurt. Even though his bag of cash is still in its hiding place, Frankie knows the thugs work for Burke, and he goes to his office to talk, kneecapping one of his henchmen for emphasis. Burke suggests that Rory talk to Sean, beaten bloody and gagged in the trunk of a car. Burke tells Rory to get the money to him by that evening, or he'll kill Sean.
Rory returns to the O'Meara house for the cash, but Tom has already found it. Rory explains to Tom what he is doing and why, but Tom calls Eddie and they arrest him. Driving to the police station, they get stuck in traffic. When Eddie gets out to make a truck driver move his 18-wheeler, Rory kicks Tom unconscious and goes to the trunk to get the bag of cash. Eddie sees Rory and reaches for his gun. Rory, who has Tom's gun, warns him not to draw, but Eddie ignores the warning. Rory kills him but fails to retrieve the money.
The FBI and the British SAS question Tom about his association with Frankie McGuire. That night, Frankie meets Burke in a warehouse, where one of Burke's thugs tosses Sean's severed head at Frankie's feet. Frankie gives them a bag with a bomb that explodes when the thug opens it. Frankie kills Burke, saying "You're a stupid man, Mr. Burke" and his men and goes to the Fitzsimmons home to ask Megan to tell the I.R.A. he is returning with the missiles. Tom crashes a cocktail party there to talk to the judge and recognizes Megan from a photo in Rory's room. Frankie escapes, and Tom persuades Megan to tell him where Frankie is going. Tom finds Frankie on the boat and, just as Frankie sails away from the pier, Tom jumps aboard and the two exchange gunfire. Tom is shot in the shoulder and sinks to the deck. Frankie emerges and stands over him, pointing his gun, but he is fatally wounded. The film ends as Frankie dies and Tom turns the boat back to shore as the morning sun rises over New York.
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