The film opens with a commentary by Detective Graham Waters. He and his partner, Ria, have been involved in a car accident with an elderly Asian woman. Ria exits the car and exchanges a series of racially charged insults with the woman. It is revealed that the accident occurred while Waters and Ria were en route to a crime scene. Waters exits the vehicle to investigate the discovery of a “dead kid.”
The film cuts to “yesterday,” as Farhad, a Persian shop owner, and his daughter Dorri are purchasing a weapon at a gun store. Aggravated with Farhad’s indecision, the owner of the gun shop begins insulting Farhad’s race, at one point calling him “Osama.” Farhad becomes irritated with the owner’s insults, and he is ultimately escorted away from the premises. Dorri, left alone with the store owner, insists that she purchase the bullets that come “in the red box.”
Across town, Anthony and Peter, two young black men, discuss the stereotypes they face as African Americans. After noticing the discomfort of Jean Cabot as she passes them on the street, Anthony and Peter carjack Cabot and her husband, who also happens to be the Los Angeles District Attorney. Following their robbery, they call Daniel Ruiz, a Latino locksmith, to change the locks at their house. After seeing Daniel, Jean is insistent that her locks be changed again in the morning—she is worried that Daniel will give a copy of their keys to one of his “gang banger friends.” After hearing this comment, Daniel decides to leave the keys on Jean’s kitchen counter.
Waters and Ria arrive at the scene of a shooting between two drivers, and it is revealed that both shooters are undercover police officers. The dead shooter, a black male, appears to have carried a large amount of cash in his trunk at the time of his death. The surviving shooter, a white male, has previously shot and killed two other black men without legal consequence. In another sequence, LAPD Officer John Ryan calls a health insurance company on behalf of his father. After he fails to receive the answers he desires, Ryan racially insults Shaniqua Johnson, the representative on the other line.
Ryan enters his squad car, and the viewer is introduced to his partner, Officer Tom Hansen. After seeing a vehicle that looks similar to the one that has been carjacked, the two pursue the black Navigator. During their pursuit, they discover that a passenger in the car is performing a sexual act on the driver. Despite discrepancies in the vehicle’s descriptions, Ryan insists that they pull over the Navigator. As they order the couple out of the car, Cameron Thayer, a television director, cooperates, while his wife, Christine, is argumentative. Annoyed with her frustration, Ryan molests Christine during a supposed “pat-down.” The couple is let off with a warning, but Cameron and Christine get into an intense argument about Cameron’s passivity during Christine’s assault.
Arriving home after a long day of work, Daniel finds his five-year-old daughter, Lara, hiding under her bed. After Lara tells Daniel she is afraid of the gunshot she heard outside, Daniel gives her an “invisible impenetrable cloak” to protect her against all danger. The scene cuts to Anthony and Peter, who are arguing in the SUV they have carjacked. Engrossed in their debate, Anthony runs over a Korean man. The victim is severely injured, and after Anthony and Peter take a moment to argue what to do with him, they ultimately decide to drop him in front of a hospital.
Disgusted by Ryan’s behavior the night before, Officer Hansen talks to his boss, Lieutenant Dixon, about switching partners. Dixon, a black officer, is insistent that Ryan not be exposed as a racist—doing so would cost everyone in their division their jobs. In order to separate himself from Ryan, Dixon suggests that Hansen lie and claim to have “uncontrollable flatulence” so that he can ride in a one-man car.
Ryan visits Shaniqua Johnson in-person to beg for a different health plan for his father. Recognizing Ryan from his racist comments over the phone, Johnson orders to have the officer removed from her property. Before he leaves, Ryan insults Shaniqua again, calling her an affirmative action hire. Meanwhile, Daniel repairs a broken lock at Farhad’s shop. Though he fixes the lock, Daniel explains to Farhad that the door frame is broken. Farhad, who does not understand English well, thinks that Daniel has “cheated him.”
The following morning, Farhad finds that his store has been broken into and defaced with graffiti. The insurance company refuses to cover the damages, as they claim that the defective door is a result of Farhad’s negligence. Feeling that Daniel has wronged him, Farhad vows to get revenge.
Detective Waters visits his weak, elderly mother in her run-down home. She begs him to search for his missing brother, and he agrees to help. Later, Waters arrives at an LA courthouse to deliver a verdict regarding the shooting between the two undercover officers. There, his boss instructs him to not reveal the presence of the cash in the black officer’s trunk in order to put forth an image of a non-racist LAPD. Though Waters disagrees with this verdict, he understands that he will be rewarded with a job promotion if he adheres to his superior’s request.
Jean Cabot comes home and sees that her dishes remain in the dishwasher. She becomes aggravated at Maria, her Latina maid. In another part of town, Officer Ryan encounters a grave car accident. As a first responder, he crawls into the overturned vehicle and finds Christine Thayer trapped inside. Once Christine recognizes Ryan, she becomes hysterical and refuses his assistance. However, after calming and reassuring Christine, Ryan rescues her from the vehicle seconds before it explodes into flames.
Anthony and Peter attempt to carjack another vehicle, which happens to belong to Cameron Thayer. After the events of the previous night, Cameron is incredibly frustrated and combative. Against Anthony and Peter’s request, he fails to exit the car. Anthony hops into the car, and Cameron begins driving erratically. A group of police officers, led by Officer Hansen, pursue Thayer and Anthony. The passengers are ordered to exit the vehicle, and Cameron decides to step out alone. He pushes against the LAPD, but Hansen, attempting to redeem himself for the night before, defends Cameron. Thayer is ultimately let off with a warning, and Anthony remains undiscovered.
In an effort to avenge Daniel, Farhad brings his gun to the locksmith’s house. From her home’s front window, Lara watches as the situation between her father and Farhad escalates. Lara decides to jump into her father’s arms so that she can protect him with her invisible cloak. Farhad shoots as Lara enters the scene, and Daniel, his wife, and Farhad all believe that the little girl has been shot dead. However, it is revealed that Dorri’s “red box” of ammunition was actually a box of blanks. Back at his store, Farhad tells Dorri that Lara is his “guardian angel.”
At night, Peter is hitch-hiking in a deserted part of town. He is picked up by Officer Hansen, who is initially friendly to his passenger. After noticing that a Saint Christopher statuette is on Hansen’s dashboard, Peter chuckles. Hansen interprets Peter’s laughter to be directed at him, and Hansen grows increasingly aggravated. Peter reaches into his pocket to reveal that he, too, carries a Saint Christopher statuette. However, Hansen wrongly assumes that Peter is reaching for a gun, and he shoots Peter before the statuette is revealed. Hansen dumps Peter’s body on the side of the road and sets his car on fire, thus destroying all evidence of his crime. The scene circles back to the film’s opening, and Peter is revealed to be Waters’s missing brother.
Following his attempted carjacking, Anthony is taking a city bus. He passes the scene where he hit the Korean man the night before, and he notices that the keys remain in the Korean man’s ignition. He steals the van, and, upon opening the trunk, he discovers numerous Cambodian immigrants chained inside. Anthony decides to drive the car to Chinatown and set the Cambodian human trafficking victims free. After their release, Anthony passes a car crash that involves Shaniqua Johnson. As Anthony drives away, he hears the exchange of a series of racial slurs between those involved in the car accident.
