spoiler extremely brutal police drama set in san francisco involve a sting operation that go terribly wrong . a cop det . falon and sam elliott and mistakenly and savagely beat to death an undercover policeman winch and mike watson and thinking that he murder his partner det . sam levinson and mike burstyn . a partner who unknowing to falon be dirty . get the lowdown that a group of policeman under his command be deal drug by knock off drug dealer of their cocaine and heroin and then sell it back to them captain delgoti and paul sorvino and set up a number of sting operation in his precinct with one of the cop target be det . levinson . levinson partner det . falon who as honest a the day be long have no idea of levinson corruption . when det . falon find his partner det . levinson stab to death outside a bar and be they be at drink the night away and he go nut and attack and beat to death the man on the scene winch . winch who be not responsible for levinson murder be in fact there to get him to turn and give up the name of his fellow drug deal corrupt cop . with the help of striper and girlfriend sally and mimi craven and falon have winch body put in a car and drive down to the dock dump it in san francisco bay feeling that the cop killer get just what he deserve . what falon doesn not know be that the two cop later put on the case of leinson murder holloway and orlanski and dan lauria and richard gilliland and be the one who murder him . it not until much late that falon realize that his partner be dirty when he be assign together with rookie detective michael murrow and esai morale and on the winch case and try to cover up his involvement in winch death . falon new partner sense that he anything but interested in find winch killer and slowly put two and two together . the two dirty cop and holloway and orlaski and try to cover up their role in both levinson murder and whom they kill fear that he about to turn evidence on them and as well a their drug dealing . the two crook cop set up ex con jerome johnson and perry moore and by break into his apartment and plant drug there and then and to make it look like a drug hit and brutally murder him and his wife . this happen right in front of the couple two year old son in one of the most shocking and sicken murder scene ever put in a movie . not satisfied with kill levinson and johnson and together with his wife and holloway and orlanski get to falon girlfriend sally and who be a junkie and be supply with her drug by the late det . levinson . the two corrupt cop stick a needle in sally arm force her to overdose not realize and by stick the needle in her left arm and that she leave hand . which would make it physically impossible and which also alert falon and who find her body and that sally be in fact murder and do not kill herself voluntary or by accident . falon begin to come to his sens when he later approach at his old watering hole by holloway and orlanski and ask to join them in their drug deal operation . falon angrily refuse but now he know that like his partner the late sam levinson that he know too much and be now a marked man . meanwhile det . murrow and now a lot smarter and wiser and by get to know what his partner falon be all about confronts falon about winch death only to get knock out and cuff to a sink at the bar that falon be at . with falon now smash from his drinking and but with a full head of steam and go outside to meet holloway and orlanski knowing that no matter what happen he will end up on the losing end . tough and uncompromising movie about police corruption with sam elliott a the old veteran who think he see and know everything about crime and police work but have a lot to learn . still he overlook his partner det . levinson and whom he work with for 20 year and secret life a a drug dealer that not only lead to him murder an innocent man but end up be kill himself .