Small time New York City gumshoe Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) is hired through a law firm by a mysterious man named Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro). Cyphre tells Harry that choosing him as the private investigator for this case was by no accident despite Harry not knowing who Cyphre is or in turn Cyphre not directly stating why he chose Harry. The case is to locate a man by the name of Johnny Favorite. As Harry progresses through the case, he doesn't quite trust Cyphre as every step Harry takes leads to people angry about his questions. Johnny's associates are highly populated by those into mysticism and particularly voodoo, which takes Harry to New Orleans. As Harry continues his investigation, one by one, the people he interviews turn up dead. Although Harry isn't sure if he wants to continue with the case, he does so if only to satisfy his own curiosity as to Johnny's whereabouts and why Cyphre wants to find him.