In Budapest, two Americans live together. Adam, a former Manhattan prosecutor at work on his first novel, and Lisa, a cool hard-working financier who idolizes her boss (former Communist turned deal maker, Kovacs) as she tires of Adam's lifestyle. Cut to the subway, where two tough guys are pursuing Marta, a blond waif. She manages to surprise one of them in a hallway, dispatching him with a straight razor, and she barges into Adam's apartment to elude the other. She tells Adam why she is running, a story that implicates Kovacs, and she seeks Adam's help and affection. He takes her side, and slowly Lisa, Adam, Kovacs, Marta, and her pursuer draw toward a showdown.