Serial swindler Bernie Laplante (Dustin Hoffman) makes the first selfless gesture of his life when he helps save injured passengers from a roadside plane crash and then vanishes into the night. Hoping to find the hero who pulled her out of the wreck, reporter Gale Gayley (Geena Davis) announces a $1 million prize for stepping forward. But when handsome vagrant John Bubber (Andy Garcia) takes credit, Bernie struggles to expose him amid a media circus and countless adoring fans.