Like John Woo and Ringo Lam before him, noted Hong Kong action director Tsui Hark made his American filmmaking debut with a thriller starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. For this film, Hark also had the privilege of guiding basketball star Dennis Rodman through his first dramatic role. American anti-terrorist agent Jack Quinn (Van Damme) has retired from duty, content to stay with his pregnant wife at his seaside hideaway. However, the CIA lure him back into duty for one last mission: wiping out crazed international terrorist Stavros (Mickey Rourke). Quinn flies to Antwerp to ambush Stavros, but his plan fails; Quinn is captured and imprisoned in "The Colony," a prison camp for spies "too valuable to kill and too dangerous to set free." To further torture Quinn, Stavros kidnaps Quinn's wife; after she gives birth to their son, Stavros keeps him captive, surrounded by land mines and wild animals. Quinn escapes and makes plans to rescue his wife and child, but he can't do it alone, so he seeks the help of Yaz (Rodman), a top-level underground arms merchant with a tendency towards flamboyant body modification. Rodman also appears with R&B vocalist Crystal Waters on the song "Just a Freak" which appears on the film's soundtrack.