An interracial newlywed couple, Chris and Lisa Mattson (Patrick Wilson (American actor) and Kerry Washington) are moving into their first home. Chris’s first exchanges with their neighbor, widowed and longtime LAPD officer Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson), have somewhat hostile undertones, with Abel making comments about Chris’ smoking (which Abel later exposes to Lisa) and listening to hip hop music, and making remarks about his ethnicity in his interracial relationship to Lisa. The following night, Chris and Lisa have sex in their swimming pool. Unknown to them, Abel's children, Marcus and Celia, watch them. Abel arrives home and witnesses the spectacle. Angry, he re-positions his home security floodlights to shine into Chris and Lisa's window, keeping them awake. Abel begins to insinuate to Chris that he disapproves of his interracial marriage and that he wants them to move out of their new neighborhood. One evening, Chris and Lisa hear noises downstairs and find the tires on Chris' car slashed. Suspecting Abel, they call the police, who are unable to do anything because of Abel's status within the LAPD. Chris retaliates by shining his own floodlights into Abel's bedroom.