Plot

When an escort girl is found dead in the offices of a Japanese company in Los Angeles, detectives Web Smith and John Connor act as liaison between the company's executives and the investigating cop Tom Graham.

At the offices of a Japanese corporation, during a party, a woman, who's evidently a professional mistress, is found dead, apparently after some rough sex. A police detective, Web Smith is called in to investigate, but before getting there, he gets a call from someone who instructs him to pick up John Connor, a former police Captain and expert on Japanese affairs. When they arrive there, Web thinks that everything is obvious, but Connor tells him that there's a lot more going on.—rcs0411@yahoo.com

During a commencement gala at the newly opened Los Angeles headquarters of Nakamoto, a Japanese Keiretsu, a call girl named Cheryl Lynn Austin (Tatjana Patitz), is found dead, apparently after a violent sexual encounter. Police Detectives Webster "Web" Smith (Wesley Snipes) and John Connor (Sean Connery), a former police captain and expert on Japanese affairs, are sent to act as liaison between the Japanese executives and the investigating officer, Smith's former partner Tom Graham (Harvey Keitel). The Japnese had insisted on both Smith and Connor to be involved in the investigation. Connor is considered to be too far immersed in the Japanese culture, and not trusty worthy within his own police department.

Ishihara (Stan Egi) is the rep of the Nakamoto corporation and is concerned that Graham is trying to link the death of a call girl, with the reception being held one floor below. The reception is being attended by Senators, Congressmen and the Mayor. Connor uses a very stern tone and gets Ishihara to cooperate. Connor finds a secret room behind the walls of the boardroom. During the initial investigation, Connor and Smith review surveillance camera footage, and realize that one of the discs is missing (The disc that had the recordings for the 46th floor at the time of the incident).

Smith and Connor suspect Eddie Sakamura (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) (They find his photo in Cheryl's apartment and learn from Cheryl's next-door neighbor that Eddie is a jealous type), Cheryl's boyfriend and agent of a Nakamoto rival, of killing her, and interrogate him at a house party. Sakamura promises to bring Connor something, and Connor reluctantly lets him go after confiscating his passport. Meanwhile forensic investigation of the pubic hairs reveals that the perpetrator is a Japanese. Ishihara, a Nakamoto employee whom Connor had previously interrogated, delivers the missing disc, which clearly shows Sakamura killing Cheryl. This later turns out to be a digitally altered video of the actual murder. Graham and Smith lead a SWAT raid on Sakamura's house. He tries to flee in a sports car, but crashes and is killed.

Smith learns that Sakamura had attempted to contact him about the missing disc, so he and Connor take the disc to an expert, Jingo Asakuma (Tia Carrere), who reveals that the disc has been digitally altered to implicate Sakamura. Jingo determines that Eddie witnessed the murder and was implicated for the same reason. Jingo and Smith develop feelings for each other. Jingo had a Japanese mother and a negro father (stationed in Japan as an Air Force officer). She moved to the US after she fell in love with a white man and was ostracized in Japan for it.

Nakamoto is in the midst of sensitive negotiations for the acquisition of an American semiconductor company, with Senator John Morton (Ray Wise), a guest at the party, abruptly changing his stance on a bill that would prevent the merger from going through. This merger will place highly classified US military tech, entirely in the control of the Japanese. Mr. Yoshida (owner of Nakamoto) tells Connor that Nakamoto is being criticized for helping a financially distressed company. and he says that Bob Richmond (Kevin Anderson), an American lawyer brought him the deal a year back. Yoshida says he is wounded at the turn of events as he thinks it is racists for US to object to a sale to a Japanese company.

Suspecting his sudden shift is somehow related to the murder, Connor and Smith attempt to interview him at his campaign office, but without success. Meanwhile Smith is dragged through the re-opening of an old bribery case against him and is labeled a racist. Smith admits to Connor that he took the money from a drug peddler (when Graham convinced him that the search was invalid and the arrest won't stand up in court).

Upon returning to Smith's apartment, the duo finds Sakamura alive and well. He reveals that he was being tailed that day by Tanaka (Clyde Kusatsu), a Nakamoto security agent attempting to locate the original disc. Not wanting to be seen with Sakamura, Tanaka stole his sports car and committed suicide by crashing it. Sakamura gives Connor the original disc, but before he can leave, Lt. Graham arrives with Ishihara (Stan Egi). Sakamura is killed fighting off Ishihara's men, and Smith is shot and left for dead, surviving only thanks to a bulletproof vest. This proves that Graham was working for Ishihara.

After being interrogated, Smith is put on paid leave due to an ongoing investigation of an earlier corruption charge. Regrouping with Connor and Jingo, the three view the original surveillance footage, which shows Senator Morton performing erotic asphyxiation on Cheryl. Falsely believing he killed her; Morton changes his position on the regulation bill to stay in Nakamoto's good graces. After leaving the boardroom, the footage shows another figure approaching and killing Cheryl by strangulation.

Hoping to draw the killer out, Connor and Smith fax Morton stills of the footage showing his involvement in the murder. Morton contacts Ishihara, revealing the executive to be in on the cover-up, and then Morton commits suicide. Connor, Smith, and Jingo interrupt the merger negotiations to show Nakamoto President Yoshida (Mako) the surveillance footage. Bob Richmond (Kevin Anderson), an American lawyer working for Nakamoto, reveals that he is the real killer and tries to run away, only to be killed by Eddie Sakamura's Yakuza friends.

Yoshida maintains his and his colleague's innocence, quietly exiling Ishihara to a desk job back in Japan. Smith drives Jingo home, where she casts doubt on whether Richmond was really the murderer, or if he was simply taking the fall to protect someone higher up in the company. Jingo tells Smith that she fell in love with Connor back in Japan.