After dropping a fare in front of a night club, Mike Olshansky (David Morse) ends up beating up the club bouncers because they threw somebody against his taxi. The owner of the club, Jack Shannon (John Dossett), happens to see this, and is impressed with the way Mike handled himself. He shows up the next day to offer Mike a job.
Shannon finds Olshansky difficult to convince; Mike is wary of getting involved with shady characters. He eventually agrees, on the condition that it is only a job about driving, and that he will not take part in any criminal activity.
The job has side benefits, as Jack Shannon is a criminal of influence and wealth. Mike gets sucked into doing some loan-sharking activities, which causes him self-recriminations as well as damages his relationship with Father Tom Grzelak (George Dzundza).