What begins as an uproarious comedy evolves into a provocative, disquieting drama as director Spike Lee chronicles trivial events that bring festering racial tensions to the surface on a sweltering day in a largely black Brooklyn neighborhood. After a number of minor misunderstandings -- and an effort to boycott the local pizza parlor -- a young man (Bill Nunn) lies dead, the pizzeria lies in ashes, and the racial schism is wider than ever.