Just released from prison, mobster Jason Locke (Sean Bean) returns home to try to regain control of the Essex underworld he left behind. To show that he's back in town and ready for business, Locke makes a lucrative deal with prominent drug runner John Dyke (Tom Wilkinson). Their pact soon sets off a chain of events that may put Locke back on top -- or six feet under -- in this gritty crime thriller.