After winning a million-dollar golf bet with local mafia don Aldo Marchesini, gambler and ex-Navy pilot Bill Hawthorne rescues Catholic nun Sister Mary Markin, who mocks the mafia and destroys drugs owned by the don. Marchesini, who wants his million dollars back and is livid over his lost cocaine revenue, sends one of his henchmen to eliminate both Hawthorne and the nun. Hawthorne and Sister Mary make a cross-country flight for their lives, heading to Colorado from Boston. After meeting some of Hawthorne's friends along the way, Sister Mary learns that Hawthorne has led a most unconventional life; he's a man without an identity. When a close friend feels the repercussions of Marchesini's reach, Hawthorne swears he'll even the score with the don. Looking to utilize all his options to make Marchesini pay for his actions, Hawthorne gets a message to Joyce Miller, the love of his life whom he has not seen for over ten years. She is the first woman to serve as commander of an aircraft carrier squadron and believes Hawthorne is dead. Hawthorne quickly learns that Miller has many resources at her disposal, including the president of the United States.