Martin Cahill, better known as The General, is a master criminal in Dublin. Known to want to push the limit, he robs a famous jewelery and gets away with over one million in booty. He is the subject of the day, everybody is talking about the military precision of Cahill's crime group. In addition to the police, Cahill pissed of the IRA. They also had plans to plunder the jewelery and now demand compensation. Suddenly everybody seems 'conspiring' against him: the police, the IRA, an underling who wants to strike a deal with the IRA to avoid war and Cahill himself. Reading a newspaper article about an art robbery that was the biggest ever in Ireland, Cahill feels obliged to do better.