Jessica Meza

The Leisure Guys! electronic store erupts into chaos as four young Vietnamese gunman storm the premises loaded for bear. What started as a normal day of shopping quickly turns into the largest hostage situation, to this very day, in US history. Enter Rick Gomez, a Sacramento Police top hostage negotiator. Gomez is no stranger to tense situations that demand a cool head. He realizes rather quickly that his job is not simply to talk down the gunmen and keep the people inside safe, but to also juggle the politics of an arrogant Sheriff and trigger happy SWAT commander. Inside the store, the leader of the gunmen, Loi, understands that he has his own chess pieces to move. He doesn't want to hurt anyone but his loose cannon brother Long is a different story. He's itching for blood and unless Loi can get them their demands, which includes a large sum of money and transport back to native Vietnam, events with the hostages could spiral out of control. With potentially deadly consequences. What follows between Gomez and Loi is simultaneously a battle of wits and a growing trust to work together. Neither wants the situation to end in bloodshed. But as the day wears on everything inevitably builds to a boiling point: faux heroics by an employee thwart the trust between Gomez and Loi; a pregnant customer becomes an unwitting leader among the hostages as well as an inadvertent counselor to Loi. A press conscious Sheriff angles to hamstring Gomez and to mount an assault on the store. Meanwhile a faction hostages plot a rebellion while others are too terrified to breathe. As negotiations wear on and nerves become more and more frayed on all sides, Gomez stays determined to ensure the safety of all inside while also expressing a genuine concern for Loi's motives. What he learns is that these gunmen are not men at all, but rather confused boys who feel they've been marginalized by family, society and this country. Despite putting himself physically on the line, Gomez's effort prove futile in the events that unfolds. A potentially peaceful surrender digresses into an impulsive police raid, multiple fatalities, and a normally sleepy city in the throes of a national tragedy.