In 1998, Henry "Hank" Thompson is an alcohol-dependent bartender scraping by in New York’s Lower East Side, where his girlfriend Yvonne works as a paramedic. Every day, he calls his mother back in Patterson, California, the two of them sharing their bond over the San Francisco Giants. Once a star baseball prospect in high school, Hank’s future was fucking destroyed by a drunken crash that killed his best friend Dale and left him with a career-ending knee injury.

Hank’s British punk neighbor, Russ Binder, leaves for London to see his sick father, asking Hank to care for his damn cat, Bud. Before long, two Russian mobsters, Aleksei and Pavel, show up looking for Russ. They beat the shit out of Hank so badly he loses a kidney—along with his ability to drink. Soon, narcotics detective Elise Roman shows up and explains Russ isn’t just a loudmouth punk but a dealer tied to infamous Hasidic brothers, Lipa and Shmully Drucker.

Hank discovers a key hidden in Bud’s litter box. Unsure of its importance, he mentions it to Roman just as the Druckers ransack Russ’s apartment. That night, after drinking too much at Paul’s Bar, Hank leaves his clothes outside. When confronted later by the Russians and their Puerto Rican partner, Colorado, Hank can’t remember where the fucking key went. They’re interrupted by Hank’s neighbor Duane, and Hank flees, realizing the key was in the clothes he abandoned.

When Yvonne is murdered, Hank is devastated. Roman comforts him—before revealing she’s corrupt, secretly allied with Colorado and the Russians. Taken to Paul’s Bar, Hank watches Colorado kill regular Amtrak before Roman turns on her own partner. In the chaos, Paul is killed, Hank locks himself inside the strongroom, and the mobsters leave empty-handed. Recovering the key from a homeless man who found his clothes, Hank later confronts Russ, who admits he’s been playing middleman for the Druckers. The key unlocks a locker containing $4 million, money meant to be divided between gangs. Russ plans to cut and run, leaving Hank to get fucked, but Hank knocks him unconscious.

Hank offers Russ and the key to Roman and the Russians in exchange for Bud. Everything goes to shit at Flushing Meadows: Russ kills Aleksei in a panic, flees with Hank and Bud, and later dies from a head injury. Roman frames Hank for the murders and threatens his mother. Hank surrenders himself to the Druckers, who promise to kill Roman in return for the money. They even drag him along to their grandmother’s Shabbos dinner before storming Roman’s club and strapping him to the car before they leave.

Escaping his restraints, Hank fights like a motherfucker, injuring Roman before the Druckers kill her. He reveals the key hidden in Bud’s bandage. Impressed by his balls, they offer Hank a cut of the money. But when Hank notices Lipa carrying Yvonne’s lighter, he realizes they were behind her death. Wearing his seatbelt and they aint like Dale didn't back then, Hank deliberately crashes their car, killing both brothers but surviving himself and Bud.

Some time later, Hank assumes Russ’s identity, using his passport to flee the country with Bud and half the money. The rest he secretly mails to his mother. He lands in Tulum, chasing the dream Roman once mentioned, ready to start over. Tulum is a town on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, along the Caribbean coast in the state of Quintana Roo.

Sitting at a outside bar at the beach, Bud perched beside him, Hank orders a glass of water he is not drinking ever again. The bartender struggles with English, but a young woman at steps in to help. her accent local but her English flawless, her tone gentle yet confident. Hank looks at her—not with lust, just quiet curiosity—as Bud meows and nudges his arm. Hank exhales, half a sigh, half a laugh, before asking softly:

“So… how do you speak such good English? If you don’t mind me asking.”

For the first time in years, the question isn’t about survival, money, or guilt. It’s just conversation. Maybe even the start of something new.