Plot

Liberty, the wife of a gun manufacturer, is held hostage at a hot dog stand by a sniper seeking revenge.

A gunman ties up an actor and locks him in his dressing room just before a performance. He also puts a bomb with a 90-minute timer next to the actor. Then, he goes to a room above an L.A. plaza and draws a bead on the actor's lover, international arms dealer Liberty Wallace. Calling himself "Joe," he calls her cell phone, demonstrates that a rifle is pointed at her, and tells her to cuff herself to a hot-dog cart nearby (the cuffs are there). Over the next 90 minutes, the story unfolds: as a result of his daughter's death, he wants a public debate on the Second Amendment. As Liberty begins to bond with Joe on the phone, he gets some truths from her--and his revenge.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Liberty Wallace, who lives in Los Angeles, isn't at all uncomfortable about her links to the weapons business. Liberty is a key player for McCloud Industries, one of the largest gun manufacturers in the United States. She's the Vice President of Marketing, she's the daughter of the company's founder, and her husband is the company's ruthless CEO, America's premier arms merchant, Victor Wallace. While former war hero Victor is busy trafficking in international armaments, Liberty uses her business breaks to conduct an affair with actor Russell Williams. The balance of their marriage shifts when a sniper named Joe trains his rifle on Liberty as she walks through a busy Los Angeles park on her way to meet with Russell. Joe calls Liberty on her cell phone, and orders Liberty to handcuff herself to a nearby hot dog vendor's cart--the cuffs are already there. Liberty has no intention of submitting to Joe's wishes--until Joe begins firing shots. Quickly convinced, Liberty locks herself to the stand, only to learn that it is loaded with enough explosives to take out a city block. If she calls for help, hangs up the phone, mutes the phone, or fails to cooperate, the bomb will go off. Joe has also attached a bomb to Russell, who's now trapped in his dressing room at a local theater. Liberty realizes she can't buy her way out of this situation, and she is forced to consider Joe's demand for an anti-gun forum. The reason why Joe is doing this is because his daughter was fatally shot by a school classmate who used a gun that was manufactured by McCloud Industries. The death of a child can break a parent's mental balance. Now, Joe is demonstrating to Liberty what it's like to be on the other end of the weapon, and show Liberty the horrors of what she has had a blind hand in for years. Victor has apparently bartered illegal deals without Liberty's knowledge, ones that have resulted in easier access to weapons for street dealers--the ones who sold the weapon that killed Joe's daughter. As a result of his daughter's death, Joe wants Liberty to use her political connections and this incident to spark a public debate on the Second Amendment. Despite his past as a CIA agent, Joe no longer supports the unequivocal right to bear arms. Joe lets Liberty know that she's going to die, but that she can die a hero if she exposes the company's shady business dealings and political connections before she's killed. As Joe monitors and records her every move, Liberty reveals secrets about her own past, and her business dealings. When Victor, who is also having an affair, finds out that Liberty has been taken hostage, he's torn between following company protocol--protecting himself and allowing Liberty to be killed--and trying to help her.—Todd Baldridge

Liberty Wallace (Linda Fiorentino) is the Vice President of Marketing for McCloud Industries, one of the largest gun manufacturers in the United States. She's the daughter of the company's founder, and married to the company's ruthless CEO, Victor Wallace (Oliver Platt). While Victor traffics in international armaments, Liberty takes a break to have a romantic affair with Russell Williams (Martin Cummins), an actor.

The balance of their marriage of convenience shifts when a sniper, Joe (Wesley Snipes), targets Liberty in a busy Los Angeles Park on the way to her affair. Joe has already taken Russell hostage and placed a bomb under him with a 95 min timer. The bomb has a sound sensor and will explode in case Russell tries to draw attention to himself with any sort of noise. Russell is due for his performance in a play and was in his room at the theater. Liberty was on her way to the theatre to watch his performance.

Joe calls Liberty on her cell phone, ordering her to shackle herself to a nearby vendor's hot dog cart (The owner of the cart Dwayne (Ron Selmour) deals in drugs and has been supplying Liberty for several weeks). Liberty has no intention of acquiescing to Joe's wishes, until he begins shooting. Officer Burt McGovern (Fulvio Cecere) is on beat patrol that day. Convinced, she locks herself to the stand (Dwayne had walked away from the cart by then), only to learn that it is loaded with explosives. If she calls for help, hangs up the phone, mutes the phone, or fails to co-operate, the bomb will go off.

Liberty realizes she cannot buy her way out of the situation, and she is forced to consider Joe's demand for an anti-gun forum. Joe reveals how Liberty's company diverted arms shipments to Poland into Serbia, that led to civil war when arms reached the hands of teenagers on both sides. It is revealed that Joe's daughter was fatally shot at school by a classmate, who used a gun manufactured by McCloud Industries. Joe has decided to show Liberty what it is like to be on the other end of the weapon, and the horrors of what she has had a blind hand in for years. Liberty strips naked to attract attention and soon Officer McGovern comes around. As McGovern tries to call for backup, Joe shoots him. A passerby notices this and calls 911.

Victor and Liberty have even bartered illegal deals that have resulted in easier access to weapons for street dealers, including the ones who sold the weapon that killed Joe's daughter. Joe wants Liberty to use her political connections and this incident to spark a public debate on the Second Amendment. Despite his past, Joe no longer supports the unequivocal right to bear arms.

Joe tells Liberty that she is going to die, but that she can die as a hero if she exposes her company's shady business dealings and political connections before she's killed. When Victor, who is also having an affair, finds out that Liberty has been taken hostage, he is torn between protecting himself and allowing Liberty to be killed, or going to help her. At first, it seems that Joe, who is actually a former CIA agent, is using Liberty as bait to attract media attention, but then Joe guns down news reporter Bill Tollman (Jonathan Scarfe) (Joe called Bill to the scene and let her interact with Liberty), who is also the son of a hawkish U.S. Senator. Joe expresses his belief that this act will cause the Senator to change his pro-gun stance.

Liberty under attack from 2 gunmen at a distance. Joe takes them out and tells Liberty that they are probably CIA agents ordered to kill her by Victor, as they want to protect the company secrets. As Joe monitors and records her every move, Liberty reveals secrets about her past, and business dealings. She reveals that Victor is having sex with the President's wife. and reveals Swiss bank account numbers of US Congressmen who are paid to be pro NRA. She admits to supplying arms to gangs who control New York. They also supplied arms to the Iraqis during the gulf wars. Victor has also been opposing any legislation from the government advocating stricter gun control in America, citing the 2nd amendment.

Joe calls Victor on his cell phone as Victor is finally acting on his choice to get out of town. While Joe is shaming Victor for leaving his wife to die, Victor suddenly recognizes the voice on the phone as someone he knows personally. Following the phone conversation, Victor orders his car to bring him to where his wife is. When Victor finally arrives on the scene, Joe calls him on his cell phone again, and Victor addresses Joe by the name Alex. They discuss the time they met in Colombia and how Alex had saved Victor's life there. Victor also apologizes for having won a military medal under false pretenses for whatever transpired while they were in Colombia.

Joe/Alex then shoots and kills Victor in front of Liberty. Alex then tells Liberty that it is all up to her now before informing her that a key to her shackles is hidden in a box, underneath the hot dog cart. Liberty retrieves the key and releases herself, and then she runs to Russell's dressing room. Together, they helplessly watch the timer on his bomb count down to zero. When the bomb does not explode, they realize that it was a fake.

Meanwhile, a police SWAT team has figured out which building Joe is hiding in. Before they can get to Joe/Alex he shoots himself under the chin, and dies; but he has already forwarded Liberty's recorded confessions to several newspapers.