Contents • • • • • • • • Plot [ ] Aging private detective Harry Ross (Newman), an ex-cop, is working on a case to return 17-year-old runaway Mel Ames (Witherspoon) to her parents' home. He tracks down Mel and her sleazy boyfriend, Jeff Willis (Schreiber), at a Mexican resort. During a struggle, Mel accidentally shoots Harry with his pistol, striking him in the upper thigh. The plot picks up two years later, when Ross is living in in the guest quarters of Mel's wealthy parents, Jack (Hackman) and Catherine Ames (Sarandon).
They are former movie stars, now in the twilight of their careers. Jack is dying of cancer, which is out of remission, and he and Ross pass time playing cards. One day, Jack asks a favor of Harry: to deliver a package to an address in Los Angeles.
It turns out to be the first development in a series of twists and turns in a 20-year-old case involving the disappearance of Catherine's ex-husband. When Harry arrives at the address, he encounters a man named Ivar, who has just been fatally shot and shoots at Harry. Harry is detained by police, including former colleague Lt. Verna Hollander (Channing).