The film stars Dennis Farina (in his last role during his lifetime), Jamie Anne Allman, Ian Barford, Meredith Droeger, Chelcie Ross and Gary Cole.

Leaving the hospital after a long stay there caused by pneumonia, Joe May returns alone to his Chicago neighborhood by bus and steps into a tavern, where he is greeted by a bartender with, "I thought you were dead."

He respects their privacy and sleeps outdoors, unprepared for the frigid night in his thin leather jacket and risking a relapse of his illness.

The scheme goes badly, Joe having great difficulty in carrying a heavy side of lamb by himself, with a hungry dog pursuing him through an alley.

Cold, broke and lonely, he has little seemingly to live for, so when Jenny's boyfriend becomes violent again, Joe comes to her rescue, with fatal consequences.