Susan Price has written a #1 bestseller, a steamy novel about a woman's search for the ultimate sexual experience entitled, "The Dark Side of Judith." When Susan is framed for the murder of her fiance, billionare publisher Jack Reynolds, she eludes authorities by changing her identity and becoming the woman she wrote about in her book, Judith Anderson. To find the real killer, Susan goes undercover as a relay operator for the hearing impaired to contact District Attorney Beth McDaniels who is deaf. While relaying intimate phone conversations between Beth and her boyfriend Calvin, Susan discovers her own dark side when she becomes entangled in this voyeuristic world of deceit, intrigue and murder.
Carlo, a former mobster, is abducted by five privileged young men desperate to raise a $2 million ransom to save the sister of a friend. As Carlo plays mind games, however, his captors splinter -- each wondering whether one of their own had a hand in the crime.
Mercedes is a taxi dancer who wants to be an actress. She's involved with the married Harry, who considers himself a respected actor. Ernesto is in love with Mercedes, but he doesn't dance or have money.
Many loosely connected characters cross paths in this film, based on the stories of Raymond Carver. Waitress Doreen Piggot accidentally runs into a boy with her car. Soon after walking away, the child lapses into a coma. While at the hospital, the boy's grandfather tells his son, Howard, about his past affairs. Meanwhile, a baker starts harassing the family when they fail to pick up the boy's birthday cake.
After a failed suicide attempt leaves him partially crippled, Rory begins spending a lot of time at a neighborhood bar full of interesting misfits. When Jerry the bartender suddenly finds himself playing basketball for the Golden State Warriors, Rory and the rest of the bar regulars hope his success will provide a lift to their sagging spirits. Will Jerry forget his friends? What about his junkie hooker girlfriend and her pimp?
