Philosophy student Dalton (Patrick Swayze) is hired as a bouncer to clean up the rowdy road house 'Double Deuce'. Being a man of ideas, he at first tries to solve problems without resorting to violence, his formidable reputation doing much of the work for him. However, he has not reckoned on the perverse will of the local crimelord (Ben Gazzara), a man with ideas of his own, and despite Dalton's best intentions, much fist-fighting ensues.