Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) is a psychiatrist living in Seattle, Washington who has achieved success with her recently published book about obsessive-compulsive disorder, yet feels unfulfilled. During a session one day, her patient Billy Hahn (Steve Goldstein) tells her his life is in danger because he owes money to a criminal figure named Mike Mancuso (Joe Mantegna), and threatens suicide, brandishing a gun. Margaret persuades him to surrender the weapon to her and promises that she will help him. That night, Margaret visits a pool hall called the House of Games, where she finds and confronts Mike, who says that he is willing to forgive Billy's debt if Margaret accompanies him to a back-room poker game and identifies the tell of George (Ricky Jay), another player. She agrees, and spots George playing with his ring when he bluffs. She discloses this to Mike, who calls the bluff. However, George wins the hand and demands that Mike pay the $6,000 bet, which he is unable to do. George pulls a gun, but Margaret intervenes and offers to pay the debt with a personal check from her own bank account. She then notices that the gun is a water pistol, and realizes the entire game is a set-up to trick her out of her money. She declines to pay, but spends the rest of the night socializing with the con men. As the experience has excited her, she returns the next night and asks Mike to teach her about con games so she can write a book about the experience. Mike appears skeptical, but agrees. Mike begins to enchant Margaret by showing her simple tricks. Eventually, the two steal a hotel room and have sex for the first time. Afterward, Mike tells Margaret that all con artists take a small token from every "mark" to signify their dominance. While Mike is in the bathroom, she takes a small pocket knife from the table, believing it to belong to the man whose room they are in. Mike tells her he is late for another, large-scale con he and his associates plan to pull at the same hotel. Margaret is eager to tag along, and with seeming reluctance, Mike allows her to accompany him, posing as his wife. The con involves Mike, his partner Joey (Mike Nussbaum), and the "mark", a nameless businessman (J.T. Walsh), discovering a briefcase full of money and taking it to a hotel room. There, they discuss whether to turn it in or split it among themselves. When the "mark" withdraws to the bathroom, Margaret discovers that he is an undercover policeman, and the trick is a sting operation. She warns Mike, and they attempt to escape, but the policeman blocks their way and tries to arrest them. After a struggle, Margaret accidentally causes the policeman/businessman to fatally shoot himself. She, Mike and Joey escape to the garage, where they force Margaret to steal a car and drive past two uniformed police officers with the con men concealed in the back seat. They drive the car to a riverbank and are preparing to abandon it when they discover that the briefcase, containing $80,000 borrowed from the mafia for the con, is gone. Margaret offers to give Mike $80,000 of her own money so he can pay back the mob. Mike tells Margaret that they must split up so as not to draw any attention from the police, and claims to be going into hiding. Riddled with guilt, Margaret returns to her office and refuses to see any patients. Billy arrives in high spirits, and after a brief conversation, she spots him driving away in the same red convertible she "stole" at the hotel. She tracks him to a bar, where she sees Mike and a group including all his associates, the man posing as the occupant of the hotel room, and the undercover policeman... alive and well..., discussing the night's events - a scheme to con Margaret out of $80,000. She also learns that the pocket knife she stole from the hotel room belongs to Mike. Margaret intercepts Mike at the airport after overhearing him say he is catching a flight that night and tells him she is so worried about the police that she has withdrawn her entire life's savings. She pleads with him to start a new life with her. Mike is lured by the money, but realizes he's being tricked when she lets slip that she knew the pocket knife belonged to him, revealing that she overheard the con men's conversation. He tells her her money has already been split between them and is gone, but she pulls out the gun taken from Billy and demands that he beg for his life. Calling her bluff, Mike refuses, but Margaret shoots him in the leg. When Mike then curses her, she shoots him five more times, killing him. She calmly conceals the gun and leaves. Some time later, Margaret has returned from a vacation and is meeting her friend and colleague Dr. Littauer (Lilia Skala), having moved on from the ordeal. They talk over lunch, and Margaret seems to show no remorse for killing Mike, saying, "When you've done something unforgivable, you must forgive yourself, and that's what I've done, and it's done." When her friend is away from the table, Margaret distracts another female diner customer so she can steal a gold cigarette lighter from the woman's purse, relishing the thrill.
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