The film opens as the klutzy Valerie Highsmith (Sheila Kelley (American actress)) arrives at an airport in Puerto Vallarta. She calls her father (Wanamaker), a wealthy businessman, to let him know that she has arrived. While she is on the phone, she clumsily leans on the railing of her balcony and falls several stories onto a canvas. Soon after, an encounter with some street thieves knocks her unconscious and she loses her memory, then a local criminal named Frank Grimes (Scott Wilson (actor)) spirits Valerie away from her hotel.