New York 1955. Angel (Mickey Rourke) is an unemployed detective who accepts a job from the strange Mr. Cyphre (Robert De Niro): find a disfigured and amnesic former singer who disappeared ten years ago without paying a debt. From the streets of Harlem to voodoo ceremonies in New Orleans, his investigation quickly becomes a descent into hell. The detective is terrified; he is plagued and exhausted by horrible visions. He wants to quit but Cyphre tells him the incredible truth.