Ernest "Stick" Stickley (Burt Reynolds), a former car thief, has just been released from prison after serving seven years for armed robbery. He meets up with an old friend, Rainy (Jose Perez), who talks Stick into accompanying him for a "quick stop" near the Florida Everglades before they go to his home. The "quick stop" turns out to be an illegal drug deal set up by Rainy's dealer, Chucky (Charles Durning), that goes sour. Chucky's albino henchman, Moke (Dar Robinson), kills Rainy, but Stick gets away. Stick must now hide out for a while to elude the killers, who must eliminate him as a witness.