[2][3][4][5][6] Seattle detective Burt Simpson (Dabney Coleman), 8 days from retirement, is so concerned about planning for the future that he doesn't appreciate the present.

He is especially obsessed with ensuring financial support to allow his young son Dougie (Kaj-Erik Eriksen) to one day attend Harvard.

Burt's aversion to risk hinders his police work and has strained his relationships with his partner Ernie Dills (Matt Frewer) and his ex-wife Carolyn (Teri Garr).

Soon after, Burt learns of a dangerous high-speed car chase and ditches his partner Ernie to get involved, hoping to die in a crash.

His heroism leads to the apprehension of the suspects, henchmen of local gun smuggler Carl Stark (Xander Berkeley), and Burt is awarded a medal for his bravery.

Eventually the two men are struggling on a window washer's scaffold atop a skyscraper, when Ernie arrives in a helicopter and tells Burt about the hospital's mistake.

As a retirement present, his chief gives Burt a photo showing what really happened: although Simpson did fall from the scaffold, his leg became entangled in some ropes, and he wound up dangling upside-down.