1973年賭博預測員和義大利黑幫非正式會員Sam "Ace" Rothstein被派往拉斯維加斯，代表芝加哥犯罪集團經營由美國中西部卡車工人工會集資的Tangier賭場，而Philip Green擔任黑幫的掛職責任人。趁著博彩法允許博彩業從業執照待定期間仍可工作於賭場的漏洞，Sam將賭場的利潤提升至之前的兩倍，使義大利黑幫將多出來的利潤向稅務局瞞報而占為己有。黑幫頭目Remo Gaggi驚嘆於他的成就，派Sam的童年好友黑幫殺手Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro和他的副手Frank "Frankie" Marino保護Sam和賭場的管理運營。Nicky反覆無常的脾氣很快便使他被拉斯維加斯各賭場禁止入內，於是他聚集自己的人馬從事勒索盜竊以替代在原先在賭場出千。

The Tibetans refer to the Dalai Lama as 'Kundun', which means 'The Presence'. He was forced to escape from his native home, Tibet, when communist China invaded and enforced an oppressive regime upon the peaceful nation. The Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959 and has been living in exile in Dharamsala ever since.

When Redmon finds himself out of home and job, his life becomes a series of unpredictable escapades - from dodging gunfire after his uncle makes him deliver a highly suspicious package to pursuing a moody stewardess he thinks has come to save him. Soon Redmond begins to suspect his road of mishap might actually be the path to the truth he has been seeking all along.