Set against the backdrop of New York's high-stakes underground poker world, Rounders is the tale of Mike McDermott, a master card player who trades the poker-playing rounds for law school and a shot at a new life with his girlfriend Jo. For Mike, the new life he's staking out seems like a legitimate road to success, but it's short on the thrills and excitement of back room poker games. But when Mike's longtime friend Worm (Norton) is released from prison, Mike is faced with the high-stakes dilemma of his life: to keep on the straight and narrow, or deal himself back into the world of the Rounders.