Michael and Karen Carr (Kurt Russell) and (Madeleine Stowe) are a couple living in an upscale part of Los Angeles, and their peace of mind is upset by an intruder coming in through their skylight one night. The intruder doesn't take anything except Karen, briefly, as a hostage, before dumping her in the swimming pool and making his escape. The Carrs call in the police, one of whom, Pete Davis (Ray Liotta), takes an interest in the couple's case. Karen wants to sell the house and move as she can't sleep in her bed anymore. Michael convinces her by getting the security system recommended by Pete Pete cuts through department red tape and expedites speedy installation of a security system in the Carrs' house. Michael wants to get a gun for protection, but Pete argues against it. Pete knows the security code word for the system installed in Michael's house. Michael is working on a new deal to open a new club in the locality and is busy gathering investors for it. He has put everything he has into the venture. Roger Graham (Ken Lerner) is Michael's investor. Jerome Lurie (Carmen Argenziano) is Michael's lawyer. When Michael expresses an interest in getting revenge on the intruder, Pete invites him on a "ride-along" with his partner, Roy Cole (Roger E. Mosley). They have dinner together and then the officers attend to a domestic violence case. After dropping Cole off, Pete takes Michael out to arrest the man who broke into the Carrs' house, offering Michael a chance to take some revenge using Pete's nightstick. Michael declines, but Pete administers a vicious beating to the intruder, leaving Michael deeply suspicious of Pete's mental stability. He suggests that Pete get some professional help and, especially, stay far away from him and Karen in the future. Pete comes by and explains his story to Karen. He says the burglar tried to run away and resisted ahead, so things got ugly. Karen thanks Pete for arresting the burglar. Karen even introduces Pete to her friend Penny (Deborah Offner). Pete ignores Michael's suggestions and instead, begins to stalk the couple particularly Karen, with whom he's obsessed. Pete tries to get over Karen by having sex with a prostitute, but his mind is only on Karen. Pete meets Penny and gives a police talk to her teaching class at school. He meets Karen there and takes her out to lunch. Pete gets Michael's credit cards canceled and his car jacked with fake parking tickets. Pete even appears in the couple's bedroom one night while they are having sex, just to "check that everything's OK." Pete claims he was there since the alarm went off earlier in the night and this was just an innocent mistake. Michael thinks that Pete set off the first alarm and is responsible for the parking tickets and the canceled credit cards. Karen finds that Michael got the gun, despite her being against it. When Michael files a complaint against Pete's unwanted attentions to Capt. Russell Hayes (Andy Romano), Pete uses his police connections to destroy Michael's business reputation (Pete sends cops to Michael's investors asking them all kinds of questions about Michael, sending a signal that he might be under investigation). Michael's lawyer advises him to bribe Pete off, but Pete says he will go after Karen who doesn't deserve to be with Michael. Pete also threatens that he can kill Michael anytime he wants. Encountering bemused apathy from Pete's superiors in the LAPD (Michael has no evidence or witnesses), Michael turns to Cole, who orders his partner to cease his obsessing, see a shrink or face suspension (he threatens to report Pete to the department superiors). Pete then murders Cole, blaming it on a known criminal (during a drug bust in the criminal's home). Pete then frames Michael on drug charges by planting a supply of cocaine (half a pound) in the Carrs' house, enabling him to move in on Karen. Michael learns that Cole is dead as well. Jeopardizing his attorney's finances (the bail was set at $250K), Michael gets out on bail and takes matters into his own hands. Back at the Carr house, after finding that he has brutally murdered her friend Penny (as she won't let Pete into Karen's house while she was taking care of Karen), Karen rejects Pete, and Karen's rejection, plus her making an attempt to shoot him with Pete's gun, causes Pete to go berserk, dismissing her as worthless and attempting to sexually assault her. Michael returns home and an enraged Pete attacks him and Karen, attempting to kill them both. Pete and Michael fight, during which Pete accidentally causes the police to start heading over to the house after attempting to answer a phone call while acting as Michael (Michael had changed the password and hence Pete got caught out). Pete holds Michael at gunpoint outside of their bathroom where Karen is, and Pete demands that Karen open the door and escape with him or he'll kill Michael, while Michael begs Karen not to, saying Pete will kill him anyway. Karen ultimately bursts out of the room and uses an ornament to strike Pete in the face, allowing Michael to gain the upper hand, punching Pete and knocking him down the stairs. As Karen and Michael, who has Pete's now-loaded gun, wait for the police to arrive, Pete regains consciousness as Michael holds him at gunpoint. Pete tauntingly asks Michael if he'll arrest him as a citizen, but much to Pete's shock, Michael instead shoots Pete to death. A relieved Michael and Karen then go outside and watch as the police arrive at the scene.
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