Nate Fischer has been grinding out a living in New York's underground poker clubs. A decade ago, as a young painter, it seemed like the perfect way to pay the bills. Now he's hit a cold streak. His once-promising art career is in freefall. His wife's flirting with a dashing book editor. And his ex-con father's problems are becoming his own. On any given night, a bad beat could mean the collapse of his house-of-cards life.

Just as it looks like he's about to turn it all around, his buddy is shot and killed right in front of him, and the cops padlock every poker club in the city. For Nate's wife, this is the last straw. She wants him out. Forced to move into his tiny painting studio, Nate struggles to rebuild from the ashes. Ironically, it is his deadbeat dad who shows him the way and is there for Nate when he puts everything on the line and takes the biggest gamble of his life.