Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.
When a young schoolteacher is found dead in her car in a parking lot in broad daylight, police chief Lee Tucker can find no clues pointing to her killer. Flamboyant self-proclaimed psychic Franklin Wills offers his help to the skeptical policeman, and, when his supposed visions about the case begin...