A black TV director and his wife were insulted by a white policeman for no apparent reason because of a false driving violation; the policeman who seemed to be condemned saved the black woman he had insulted at the most critical moment; the honest Persian store owner almost murdered the tattooed Mexican locksmith (Michael Pena); the district attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his wife (Sandra Bullock) could only vent their anger on the innocent locksmith after their jeep was robbed; the black policeman (Don Cheadle) was threatened by his superiors and anxiously looking for his brother. All these seemingly unrelated trivial matters were intertwined in an unexpected way within 36 hours, and played out on the streets of Los Angeles, a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural city famous for violence, sex, and money...