Loanshark Chili Palmer (John Travolta) has done his time as a gangster. So when "business" takes him to Los Angeles to collect a debt from down-and-out filmmaker Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), Chili talks tough--and then pitches Harry a script idea.

Immediately, Chili is swept into the Hollywood scene: he schmoozes film star Martin Weir (Danny DeVito), romances "B" movie queen Karen Flores (Rene Russo), and even gets reservations at the hottest restaurants in town.

In fact, all would be smooth for this cool new producer, if it weren’t for the drug smugglers and an angry mobster who won’t leave him alone. From the novel by Elmore Leonard.