Six armed men have stolen £26m worth of gold bullion from the Brink's-Mat security depot near London's Heathrow Airport. First on the scene are Flying Squad detectives DI Nicki Jennings and DI Tony Brightwell. Back at Scotland Yard however, Flying Squad are not taking the case. Instead, long serving DCI Brian Boyce arrives from counter-terrorism to take charge of the investigation.

Unable to dispose of the bullion, robbery ringleader Micky McAvoy turns to Kenneth Noye, a businessman hiding a criminal sideline. Noye enlists Bristol gold merchant John Palmer to help disguise the gold and sell it back into the market.

Meanwhile, South London wheeler dealer Gordon Parry and the respected establishment solicitor Edwyn Cooper, set about laundering the proceeds from the stolen gold.

The police set up surveillance on Noye and are led to Palmer and more of the gold chain suspects. The resulting raids end in tragedy in Noye's garden.