The film begins with Thug (Liam Neeson) arriving at a quiet street, parking a short distance from the house he’s renting. As he steps out, he recalls a memory from when he was nine years old. He’d gotten into a school fight, and his father, rather than scolding him, had told him, “Don’t be a pussy.” Taking the words to heart, young Thug had fought back fiercely, earning his father’s grudging approval.
Later, Thug accompanies Kyle Conner (Daniel Diemer), the inexperienced son of mob boss Charlie Conner (Ron Perlman), to a fishery to negotiate with a supplier. As the conversation heats up, Kyle insists on knowing exactly what the “product” is. The supplier becomes defensive, nearly hostile, especially when he notices Thug standing quietly by. Sizing him up, the man makes a crack about Thug’s age, while his associate looks ready to provoke him. Thug speaks calmly, warning the man to control his associate before he has to intervene. With a smile, the supplier backs down, and they finalize the deal.
Afterwards, Kyle criticizes Thug for speaking up and threatening violence, though it’s clear Kyle is out of his depth. Thug, seeing Kyle’s lack of experience, advises, “You wanna be a boss one day. Start acting like one.” On their way back, Thug reaches for a cigarette, but Kyle stops him, saying no smoking in his car. Thug, in turn, warns Kyle about his own habits, particularly his growing cocaine use, hinting that it’s bound to bring him trouble.
Thug heads to the mattress store, the front for Charlie Conner’s real operation. Inside, Charlie asks about the deal. Thug tries to cover for Kyle, saying they got a decent price, but Charlie quickly sees through it—he knows his son’s limitations. Charlie laments to Thug that he’d hoped Kyle would take a different path, especially after going to college. He wanted Kyle to become a lawyer, someone respectable, but instead, Kyle insisted on joining the family business. Frustrated, Charlie doubts his son’s capability. He then gives Thug a new assignment, and as he explains, Thug struggles to remember details. Sensing something is off, Charlie asks if he’s okay, but Thug brushes it off, mentioning he’s just been having headaches. Back in his car, Thug pulls out a notepad where he’s jotting down details he fears he’ll forget—like the fact that Charlie Conner is his boss.
Later, Thug heads to a gym where he spars with a new boxer. He manages to land a few hits, but also takes a few himself. Sitting alone in the locker room afterward, he seems distant, lost in thought. The gym owner stops by, noticing something is off. Before he leaves, the owner reminds him of his original purpose: to collect protection money. Thug snaps back into focus, collects the money, and heads out.
At his usual bar that evening, Thug argues with the bartender over a free drink. Suddenly, he hears a commotion at the end of the room—a woman is arguing with her boyfriend. Thug approaches them and tells the man to take it outside. When the boyfriend refuses and even threatens him, Thug ends the confrontation with a single punch. The woman (Yolanda Ross) screams, accusing him of killing her boyfriend.
“He ain’t dead,” Thug replies calmly, “he’s just stupid,” and heads back to his seat, unfazed.
As Thug leaves the bar, Woman follows him out, yelling about knocking out her boyfriend. Thug shrugs, saying the guy deserved it. She pauses, then nods with a sly smile, but asks who’s going to take her home now.
They end up back at her place, where Thug makes out with her roughly. She gently slows him down, and they ease into a more tender moment, eventually spending the night together. Later, lying in bed, Woman talks about how she actually enjoys the sounds from the nearby buildings, saying she hates silence. She notices a tattoo on his arm—”Loopy.” Smiling, she mentions it was her high school nickname. When she asks who it’s for, Thug replies bluntly, “Some whore.” Surprised, she points out that’s not very nice, but he explains it was for a woman he thought he loved. He got the tattoo for her, but when he returned, she was with two of his friends. Woman says what he did was romantic, despite everything.
The next morning, Thug leaves her apartment and heads home. After a workout, he gets a call from Charlie, asking him to pick up a pill shipment from Dr. Gruber (Ryan Homchick). Charlie checks if Thug knows the place, and Thug assures him he does, though he double-checks his notebook right after.
At the doctor’s office, Dr. Gruber tries to negotiate the pill price, but Thug shuts him down, making it clear there’s no wiggle room. Just before leaving, though, Thug pauses and asks the doctor about his memory lapses. Gruber suggests he see a specialist as soon as possible.
Thug heads to the doctor’s office, where he receives some devastating news—he has CTE, a degenerative brain disease common among those with repeated head injuries. The doctor tells him he only has a few years before he may no longer be able to take care of himself. She gently asks if he has kids, explaining he’ll eventually need full-time care. Thug nods, saying he does.
On the drive home, he parks and sits in silence, grappling with his diagnosis. He pulls out a gun, contemplating ending things right then. But before he can make a decision, he glances over and spots a young girl outside, who flashes him a defiant middle finger, smiling as if she’s challenging him. Thug can’t help but chuckle. The encounter somehow grounds him, pushing him to try a different path—one of amends.
Back in his house, Thug makes a call to his daughter, Daisy (Frankie Shaw). Daisy answers, but she’s far from happy to hear from him, making it clear she wants nothing to do with him. Thug struggles to ask about his son but can’t remember his name. “You mean Colin, Dad?” Daisy snaps. He nods, asking for Colin’s address, only for Daisy to break the news that Colin died two years ago. Thug is visibly shaken, asking why no one told him. Daisy’s voice cuts through: “You couldn’t even remember his name—what difference would it have made?”
Thug smacks his head in frustration, muttering to himself, “Fucking idiot.”
The next morning, Thug heads to the cemetery. After a bit of searching, he finally finds his son’s gravestone, hidden beneath a layer of grass and dirt. Frustrated, he kneels down, wiping away the debris to reveal the name beneath. Taking a moment to process, he stands up and, looking around, shouts at a passing caretaker, “You should take better fucking care of this place!”
Later, Thug goes to visit his daughter Daisy at her home, noticing a “For Sale” sign on the door. Going around to the backyard, he spots her. Daisy isn’t pleased to see him, but he tells her he just wants to reconnect—maybe even take her out to dinner. As they talk, Thug learns for the first time that he has two grandchildren: a granddaughter, Katie, and a grandson, Dre (Terrence Pulliam). Trying to make conversation, he asks why she’s selling the house. Daisy laughs bitterly and explains that she’s just renting, and the owners are putting it on the market, leaving her in a tight spot.
Thug tries to stumble through an explanation for his past, but Daisy cuts him off. She calls him out for being a selfish, absent father, saying he was part of a cycle of “assholes,” like the fathers of his own grandchildren. Thug, still hoping to make amends, asks once more if he can take her and the kids out to dinner, but Daisy shuts him down and tells him to leave.
That night, Thug falls into a restless sleep and dreams of his house, seeing it suddenly flooded, as if submerged under the sea. In the surreal vision, his bed floats like a small boat on the water. To his shock, he catches sight of his father, standing there as if he’s come back from the past.
“Are you still mad?” Thug asks, his voice tinged with surprise and longing.
“Nah, I ain’t mad no more, kid,” his father replies with a slight smile. As they talk, Thug begins to hear a soft melody drifting through the dream. His father points to the special engine humming nearby, saying it’s designed to play a tune, almost like a guitar. The sound fills the air as Thug watches his father fade from view, leaving him with an odd sense of peace.
The next day, Thug meets up with Woman again. She playfully teases him about his “gangster” life, and they spend the day together in bed. While lying close, Thug notices faded scars beneath her tattoos. She explains they’re remnants of cigarette burns and bad relationships. He traces his own scars and simply says, “These came from assholes too.” Soon, he gets a call from Charlie. He starts getting dressed, mentioning he has to head to NYC. When Woman asks for a kiss goodbye, Thug just shakes his head and says he doesn’t have time, heading out the door.
Later, Thug and Kyle hit the road, bound for NYC. As they drive, Kyle asks Thug for directions, thinking he’d know the way since he’s done it so many times. But Thug brushes him off, saying, “Just use the GPS.” Once they arrive at their destination, Thug instructs Kyle to loop around the block and survey the area, ensuring there’s nothing unusual. Feeling confident, he makes the exchange with their contact—a large moving truck loaded with who knows what. Thug and Kyle take off, merging onto the highway.
On the road, curiosity gets the best of Kyle, who nudges Thug about what they’re actually transporting. Thug gives him a hard stare and warns, “Jobs like this, you don’t want to know.” Suddenly, blue lights flash behind them. A police car is tailing the truck, and Kyle’s face goes pale. In a quick move, Thug pushes him down below the dashboard, keeping Kyle out of sight. He knows the last thing they need is a panicking Kyle to draw attention.
After the cop passes by, Kyle, visibly rattled, straightens up and tells Thug he’s going to have a word with his father about the “lack of respect” he’s been shown. Thug scoffs, telling him respect isn’t handed out like pocket change—it’s earned. Kyle, unfazed, does a quick bump of cocaine, and Thug sighs, warning that the drugs will only mess with his head, making him more paranoid.
They soon arrive at their destination, a quiet suburban house owned by a man named Gamberro. As they pull around back, Gamberro waves them to park out of sight. Kyle starts to step out, but Thug stops him, saying they’re not supposed to know what goes on inside. But a piercing scream breaks the calm. Suddenly, a woman—Araceli—reaches up to the driver’s side window, pleading desperately for help. Two of Gamberro’s men grab her, and as she’s yanked away, Thug looks down, stunned, to see blood on his hand from where she’d accidentally cut him. The horrible realization hits him—he’s unknowingly been a part of trafficking women into the sex trade.
The next day, Thug makes his way to Dre’s school, where his grandson is playing football. Standing beside Daisy, he watches as Dre intercepts a pass and races to a touchdown. After the game, Thug hands him a small gift—a fishing reel. Dre wants to stay for another game, and Daisy agrees, mentioning she needs to pick up her daughter. As they leave the field, Thug quietly assures Daisy he’ll make sure Dre gets home safely.
During the drive, Thug cautiously brings up the topic of why Dre was suspended from the team. Dre admits he hit the coach’s son after the kid kept provoking him. Thug gives him a hard look, telling him sometimes it’s wiser to walk away. Dre, curious, then asks if Thug ever learned that lesson in prison. Thug nods slowly, confessing that his time inside was a result of not knowing when to back down. Dre also mentions that his mother said Thug had abandoned their family, and Thug doesn’t deny it. In a quiet moment, Dre asks about Thug’s past as a boxer.
Thug took Dre to the gym, where they watched two boxers sparring. After a while, they suited up and Thug showed Dre a few basic moves. When it was time to go, Thug drove Dre home, asking him to keep the boxing a secret from his mother.
“You’re afraid of her?” Dre asked, teasing.
“Damn right I am,” Thug replied, grinning.
“Me too,” Dre smirked.
That night, Thug had another dream about his father. When he woke up, he found the wound from Araceli had reopened, and he was bleeding again. As he tended to it, Thug recalled how his dad used to take him fishing every Sunday, but never let him go out on the boat alone. One week, his father was arrested and couldn’t make it. Thug took the boat out, thinking his father would never find out. But he did. After that, they never went fishing again. “He took it away to punish me,” Thug murmured.
Seeing the blood, Thug felt the need to take action. He went to Gamberro’s house, asking for Araceli. She started to undress, but Thug stopped her. “I don’t know why I’m here,” he admitted. Thug asked her about her family in the US and if she wanted him to call them. She refused, saying they already knew. She showed him a picture of her child and explained she was working off a $20,000 debt to gain her freedom. Thug, unsettled but unable to help, left her behind, her sadness lingering in the air.
A call from Charlie changed the course of his day. Thug had to collect $20,000 from a priest. When Thug found him, the priest panicked and handed over the money. As they spoke, Thug asked if the priest did confessions, but before he could answer, a shot rang out, killing him instantly. Thug realized the priest’s killers were there for him. He managed to take out two of them, but was cornered by a third. In a desperate move, he got to his car, reversed, and ran the third man over. With the killer on the ground, Thug demanded to know who hired him. The man, barely alive, confessed that a large guy with a spider web tattoo on his neck had sent them to kill Thug. Thug left him to die.
Later, Thug met with Charlie, handing him the money. Charlie asked who had sent the killers. Thug answered with a shrug. “Too many enemies to count,” he said, “but none that would do this.”
When he got home, Thug found Woman outside. After a bit of persuasion, he let her into his rental, which was practically empty. Woman noticed some information on CTE, and Thug confirmed he was sick. He also admitted to her that his son, Colin, had overdosed two years ago. He hadn’t been able to handle it well. Looking at Woman, Thug warned her that their time together wouldn’t end well because of his condition. But Woman, with a metaphor about gasoline meeting a flame, accepted it, saying they should enjoy the time they had.
The next day, Thug invited Woman to a dinner with Daisy and his grandchildren, but Daisy didn’t show up. Thug broke down in the restaurant, and Woman had to console him and take him home.
The next morning, Woman had a conversation with Daisy, telling her the truth about her father’s condition. Thug overheard and became enraged, threatening Woman. He accused Daisy of abandoning him and revealed he had been a terrible father. Daisy, feeling sympathy for her father, told him she’d help him find a new doctor. She left, telling him, “Life’s a shit storm, eh?”
Feeling like an idiot, Thug had a panic attack, punching the walls until his hands bled. The weight of his mistakes crushed him.
The next day, Thug went to see Dre. He apologized for his behavior, urging Dre not to follow in his footsteps. Dre listened, then walked away silently.
Later, Thug went to Charlie’s office to ask for a $40,000 loan—half for Araceli’s freedom, half for a house for his daughter. But when he arrived, Charlie fired him, citing his worsening health. Thug was stunned but tried to downplay it. However, Charlie’s silence revealed he had known about Thug’s condition for a while. Thug snapped, knocking out Charlie’s enforcer and forcing Charlie to open his safe. With cold disappointment, Thug ordered him to fill a bag with cash and guns. He shot Charlie in the chest, killing him, and spared Kyle, his former enforcer, as a final favor.
Thug then contacted his lawyer, Burt, handing him money for a cashier’s check to give to his daughter. Burt, knowing Thug didn’t have long to live, simply said, “It was nice knowing you.”
Later, Thug found Woman in her apartment, drunk and injured. He took care of her, telling her that he had always known he’d be the one to screw things up. He urged her to get real help, but she insisted he was helping her. He held her until she fell asleep.
The next day, Thug returned to Gamberro’s house, hoping to buy Araceli’s freedom. But Gamberro laughed at him. Thug offered $30,000, but Gamberro refused, saying Araceli wasn’t for sale. Thug, angered and frustrated, insisted, demanding to know why. Gamberro revealed that Araceli had been murdered earlier that day. Thug, devastated by his failure to save her, confronted Gamberro and forced him to release all his girls. As Gamberro complied, one of his men tried to shoot Thug, but Thug shot him first. Then, Gamberro stabbed Thug repeatedly, causing him to fall. But one of the girls, in a panic, picked up the dropped gun and shot Gamberro in the head. As Thug bled out, he told her to take the money and leave.
Thug called Dre, telling him not to wake his mother. When he arrived at Daisy’s house, Thug shared a final moment with Dre, telling him that he would soon hear awful things about him. He pressed Dre’s hand in his own, stained with blood, and whispered, “I tried, I tried.”
Thug drove off, but instead of going home, he headed to an abandoned house with a wind chime that sounded like a guitar. As he bled out, the wind chime swung in the breeze, and the last shot showed the ocean, implying that Thug’s time had finally run out.
