Film-mad mobster Chili Palmer (John Travolta) goes AWOL from his intended assignment to track down B-Movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), who has racked up gambling debts all over Las Vegas. Dazzled by the Hollywood lights, Palmer forgets his debt-collecting duties, deciding instead to pitch in with Zimm to produce a new vehicle for movie star Martin Weir (Danny DeVito). Ties to the criminal underworld are not so easily severed, however, and the co-producers find themselves harassed by Palmer's Miami boss Ray 'Bones' and the equally formidable gangster Bo Catlett.