Hard Eight

Sydney is a deadpan professional gambler who operates in the twilight casino world of Reno. He takes John, a younger and somewhat naive man, under his wings after what appears to be a chance encounter. As their relationship develops, John’s confidence grows under Sydney’s tutelage. He falls in love with a waitress and sometimes hooker, Clementine and teams up with Jimmy, an obnoxious but dangerous small time crook who openly challenges Sydney’s influence. Despite Sydney’s attempt to keep John out of trouble, he is soon forced to intervene when John ands Clementine kidnap an over-zealous client and lose control of what becomes a violent situation…