Ulysses arrives in the fictional town Normal,
Minnesota, during the wintertime to serve as interim sheriff following the death of the town’s previous sheriff. He quickly has friendly interactions with his deputies, town residents, and local shopkeepers, and the mayor offers to make him the permanent sheriff. However, just days into the job, a bank robbery draws him to the local bank. When he enters to negotiate with the robbers, his own deputies open fire on him, revealing that the town’s law enforcement is compromised. Inside the bank, Ulysses discovers a hidden cache of cash, gold bars, and military-grade weapons tied to a criminal operation connected to Japanese gangsters (the
Yakuza). Rather than arrest the two bank robbers, Lori and Keith, Ulysses allies with them after realizing they have stumbled into a larger conspiracy. The three unbox some of the weapons stored in the vault and use them to fight their way out of the bank. Moving down the town’s main street, they engage in a series of violent confrontations with townspeople, including shopkeepers Ulysses had met earlier. The mayor and multiple residents are killed during these encounters as Ulysses and the robbers attempt to escape. During the robbery, a Yakuza operative working as a bank security guard sends a coded message alerting Yakuza leaders to a threat against their operation. In response, a group of Yakuza members departs Japan on a private jet bound for Normal. Lori and Keith leave the town on a snow plow. Ulysses continues alone and makes his way back to the sheriff’s office, where he is trapped by Moira, a town resident whom Ulysses had befriended the previous day. Alex, the deceased sheriff’s adult child, intervenes and shoots Moira before she can kill Ulysses after learning Moira murdered her father. Ulysses deputizes Alex, and the two join forces. After these events, Ulysses directs Alex to place
C-4 explosives in the bank vault. He then uses the explosives as leverage to force a deal with the remaining townspeople, deputies, and the Yakuza security guard. The town is isolated by a snowstorm, a power outage, and a lack of cell service, preventing outside contact. Under Ulysses’s arrangement, the townspeople, deputies, and the two survivors form an uneasy alliance to defend against the expected arrival of the Yakuza, while agreeing to stage the bank incident as a car accident. When the Yakuza arrive, they inspect the bank, accept the staged accident, and are satisfied that their property remains secure. They then join Ulysses, Alex, and the townspeople for a celebratory dinner. During the gathering, a loaded shotgun mounted on the wall of the restaurant falls and accidentally discharges, killing the Yakuza leader. The incident immediately triggers a violent melee between the Yakuza and those present. The confrontation results in heavy casualties within the restaurant, with most participants killed, including all of the Yakuza members. Ulysses and Alex survive the conflict. The film ends with Ulysses and Alex in Texas, where they are working together in another substitute sheriff assignment. == Cast ==