Alozo (Denzel Washington) is a black detective in the U.S. Narcotics Enforcement Department. He is experienced, excellent at investigating cases, and has a keen sense of smell for drug cases. He is known as the "Magic Eye". On this day, a new colleague Jack (Ethan Hawke) came to Alozo's department. Jack followed Alozo to every dark corner of the street. While discovering the bizarreness of this city, he also slowly saw Alozo's both good and evil methods of handling cases. Although Alozo is a detective, his methods are on the edge of the law. He adheres to the principle of "fighting poison with poison" and first arms himself: confiscates the drugs of the criminals and takes them himself, points a gun at Jack and orders him to follow suit. He even has some unusual relationship with drug dealers. But on the other hand, he strives to protect Jack, a young man, and his complex personality makes Jack unpredictable to this detective boss.