The Swede (Marlon Brando), a prison warden, rules his family and his prison with an iron hand in one of the coldest parts of North Dakota. When an inmate dies under mysterious circumstances, however, the FBI sends in agent Karen Polarski (Mira Sorvino) to investigate. On the home front, the sons-in-law of the Swede, Larry (Thomas Haden Church) and Bud (Charlie Sheen) accidentally discover that a train loaded with millions of dollars of unmarked currency slated to be destroyed will soon be passing through. The temptation is too great and the guys hatch a scheme to rob the train. Of course, the biggest obstacle in their way is the Swede.