Nicky has studied the science of human nature his whole life, and understands precisely how to earn anyone's trust, or fool them into never noticing he's stealing their watch, or wallet, or anything they might have that Nicky can sell. In the movie's opening sequence, he's eating at a New York restaurant when the gorgeous Jess approaches his table and asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend so that she can avoid a particularly determined guy at the bar who won't stop hitting on her. The two of them hit it off, but he quickly figures out that she's running a scam on him and soon turns the tables on her and her partner. Undaunted, Jess begs Nicky to teach her what he knows about the criminal life, and he brings her in on a plan to steal from as many people as possible during Super Bowl week in New Orleans. She turns out to be a natural, and quickly learns the ropes of this unscrupulous world. Nicky and Jess seem to be falling for each other, but Nicky's actions at the end of their New Orleans trip force Jess to reassess their relationship. Three years later, Nicky enters into a deal with Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro), a wealthy playboy who has a software program that will help his Formula 1 team triumph. Nicky agrees to help Garriga sell a fake version of the program to his competitors, but as the plan goes into motion he discovers Jess and Garriga are a couple. As old feelings complicate the new arrangement, Nicky must also contend with the no-nonsense Owens (Gerald McRaney), Garriga's head-of-security who openly distrusts Nicky.