Treat (Matthew Modine) and Phillip (Kevin Anderson) are two brothers living alone in a rundown row house in Newark, New Jersey. Treat, the elder, is a violent pickpocket who spends the day robbing people in order to provide for himself and Phillip. Meanwhile, at home, Phillip tries to educate himself via words in magazines and watching TV.
Treat kidnaps a mysterious man from a bar, with a briefcase full of stocks and bonds. Known as Harold (Albert Finney), he turns the tables on his abductor and begins to assimilate himself into the brothers' lives, turning Treat into a gentleman and giving Phillip the encouragement he needs.
But there are people who have picked up on Harold's disappearance. As Harold helps Phillip overcome his agoraphobia (Treat has him under the influence that he will die upon contact with the outside world), tensions begin to run high in the household.
One night, after an argument between the brothers, Harold returns and is revealed to have been fatally wounded. He dies on the couch, with Phillip by his side. Treat breaks down in tears, and Phillip comforts him.
