Three pals, working on a Detroit auto-plant, struggle to make ends meet. The management is overpowering and demanding, Uncle Sam wants more money by the day and the Union rep is a two faced guy suspected to be in cahoots with the bosses. One day, the three, brilliantly interpreted by Richard Pryor,  Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto, decide to rob the safe of the Union office - although they’re riddled with ambivalent feelings, being Union members themselves. Inside the safe they find no money, but papers indicating to the Union’s illegal practices. Light in tone and approaching comedy at points, the second half of the film becomes darker as the friends try to monetise as best as they can the compromising files but find themselves at odds as the Union tries and succeeds to pit them against each-other. The soft power of the three’s interpretation makes the film. This is Paul Schrader’s directorial debut.