Steven Taylor (Michael Douglas), a powerful New York financier, discovers that his marriage to heiress Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow) is falling apart and that she is having a passionate affair with Brooklyn painter David Shaw (Viggo Mortensen). Facing personal bankruptcy, Steven uncovers David's criminal past as a con man. Instead of confronting him, Steven corners David and offers him $500,000 to murder Emily in the couple's apartment so Steven can inherit her multi-million dollar trust fund. David accepts the contract, but on the night of the planned hit, the plot goes violently awry when Emily fights back and kills her masked intruder. As Detective Karaman digs into the crime, Steven frantically manipulates the evidence while Emily slowly uncovers her husband's lethal betrayal.