In the controversial film (especially within the Gay community), a serial killer brutally slays and dismembers several gay men in New York's S&M and leather districts. The young police officer Steve Burns (Pacino) is sent undercover onto the streets as decoy for the murderer. Working almost completely isolated from his department, he has to learn and practice the complex rules and signals of this society. While barely seeing his girlfriend Nancy (Allen) anymore, the work starts changing him.