The movie opens in a Los Angeles convenience store one late Monday night, where a smalltime drug dealer named Nick (Aaron Eckhart) is trying to decide what coffee brand to buy. His ex-lover Dallas (Paulina Porizkova) and fellow hitman Billy Hill (James LeGros) are getting impatient and tell him to hurry up. Conflicts between Nick and the cashier (Luck Hari) ensue, resulting in Dallas shooting the cashier dead. Though the three attempt to cover up the crime, they are forced to also shoot a police officer (Bari K. Willerford) when he discovers blood on the ground. Written by peter markov
An Innuit hunter races his sled home with a fresh-caught halibut. This fish pervades the entire film, in real and imaginary form. Meanwhile, Axel tags fish in New York as a naturalist's gofer. He's happy there, but a messenger arrives to bring him to Arizona for his uncle's wedding. It's a ruse to get Axel into the family business. In Arizona, Axel meets two odd women: vivacious, needy, and plagued by neuroses and familial discord. He gets romantically involved with one, while the other, rich but depressed, plays accordion tunes to a gaggle of pet turtles