Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller star as the infamous highwaymen who terrorised high society in 18th-century London in this misfiring period action adventure, which marked the debut feature of Jake (son of Ridley) Scott. Music and design are both deliberately anachronistic in an attempt to make the larcenous odd couple (Carlyle's vengeful, rough Plunkett, and Miller's educated wastrel, Macleane) a hip, English Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for the 1990s. Liv Tyler, as Macleane's aristocratic groupie, adds a touch of romance, and there are some spirited moments, but this is mostly a chaotic jumble of style over substance.

Will Plunkett and Captain James Macleane, two men from different ends of the social spectrum in 18th-century England, enter a gentlemen's agreement: They decide to rid the aristocrats of their belongings. With Plunkett's criminal know-how and Macleane's social connections, they team up to be soon known as "The Gentlemen Highwaymen". But when one day these gentlemen hold up Lord Chief Justice Gibson's coach, Macleane instantly falls in love with his beautiful and cunning niece, Lady Rebecca Gibson. Unfortunately, Thief Taker General Chance, who also is quite fond of Rebecca, is getting closer and closer to getting both.