Sonny Crockett is an undercover Miami vice detective. As part of his cover as Sonny Burnett, he lives on a sailboat called St. Vitus' Dance, guarded by his pet alligator, Elvis and drives a black Ferrari. Ricardo Tubbs is a New York street cop who comes to Miami looking for the drug smuggler responsible for his brother's death. He poses as a Jamaican looking for cocaine. Tubbs and Crockett unwillingly become partners in their efforts to catch the same man, a Colombian smuggler named Calderone. When Calderone gets away after a judge releases him on bail, Tubbs decides to stay on in Miami as Crockett's new partner.

Crockett and Tubbs must rely on a big-talking small-time hustler to help them solve a series of drug-related murders.