Joe Campbell's an average guy. Average job. Average looks. Even his name's average. Just a regular old Average Joe. Until the fateful night he walks into a seedy bar and meets a mysterious woman with a tempting offer-ghostwrite a novel depicting her life as the mistress of one of the most notorious Mafia kingpins in recent history.

After initially refusing the offer, curiosity and a longing to escape the trappings of his ordinary life get the better of Joe. As his story-in-the-making begins to take shape, things take a sinister turn, and Joe finds himself sinking deeper into a hole he may never get out of alive. First his wife vanishes. Then he's framed for murder. With the mob, the law, and a band of two-bit criminals in hot pursuit, Joe turns to the only person he can trust-his estranged brother, someone harboring secrets more dangerous than his own.

With no place left to run and nowhere to hide, the brothers, along with a down-on-his-luck detective, must band together if they are to survive the night-a night where no one will escape the crossfire unscathed.