Eight men eat breakfast at a Los Angeles diner before carrying out a diamond heist. Led by Joe Cabot and his son and underboss "Nice Guy" Eddie Cabot, all other criminals use aliases: Mr. Brown, Mr. White, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange and Mr. Pink. After discussing the Madonna song "Like a Virgin" and arguing over Pink's habit of not tipping, the group leaves the diner to perform the heist.
After the heist, White flees with Orange, who was shot in the stomach by an armed woman during the escape and is bleeding severely in the back of the getaway car. At one of Joe's warehouses, White and Orange rendezvous with Pink, who believes that the job was a setup, and that the police were waiting for them. White informs him that Brown is dead, Blue and Blonde are missing, and Blonde murdered several civilians during the heist; White is furious that Joe, his old friend, would employ a "psychopath" like Blonde. Pink has hidden the diamonds nearby. He argues with White over whether or not they should get medical attention for Orange, and the pair end up having a fight and draw guns at each other. They stand down when Blonde arrives with a kidnapped policeman, Marvin Nash.
Sometime earlier, Blonde meets with the Cabots, having completed a four-year jail sentence. To reward him for not having given Joe's name to the authorities for a lighter sentence, they offer him a no-show job. Blonde insists that he wants to get back to "real work," and they recruit him for the heist.
In the present, White and Pink beat Nash for information. Eddie arrives and orders them to retrieve the stashed diamonds and ditch the getaway vehicles, leaving Blonde in charge of Nash and Orange. Whilst dancing to Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle with You", Blonde tortures Nash before cutting off his right ear with a straight razor. Blonde then retrieves a gasoline can from his car, and is about to set Nash on fire, but Orange suddenly wakes up and shoots Blonde to death, saving Nash's life. Orange then reveals to Nash that he is an undercover police officer and the police will arrive shortly.
Earlier, Orange � real name Freddy Newandyke � uses an elaborate tale of drug delivery to gain acceptance into the gang. Shortly thereafter, White becomes friends with Orange.
Back in the present, Eddie, Pink, and White return, Orange tries to convince them that Blonde planned to kill them all and steal the diamonds for himself. Eddie impulsively kills Nash and accuses Orange of lying, as Blonde was a longtime friend of his father. Joe then arrives with news that the police have killed Blue. He is about to execute Orange, whom he suspects is the traitor behind the setup, but White intervenes and holds Joe at gunpoint, insisting that White does not believe Orange is responsible. Eddie promptly aims at White, creating a Mexican standoff. All three fire; both Cabots are killed, and White and Orange are hit.
Pink, the only uninjured person, takes the diamonds and flees. As White cradles the dying Orange in his arms, Orange confesses that he is an undercover officer; White sobs in betrayal and reluctantly presses his gun to Orange's head. In the background, Pink is heard being arrested, as the police storm the warehouse and order White to drop his gun. Gunshots sound and White collapses.
