A successful African-American (Oscar-nominated Samuel L. Jackson) buys a vacation home and moves into a conservative, all-white neighborhood. One night he is inadvertently suspected of robbing his own home when he attempts to disarm his car alarm. In a series of mishaps and public relations bungles, the local police chief (Dabney Coleman -- "You've Got Mail," "Stuart Little"), who happens to be up for re-election, hires a drifter (Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage) to pose as a thief so the local police have a "legitimate" reason for being at the scene of the "crime," and to cover up their blunder.