A beautiful magician’s assistant, Myra (Bridget Fonda), is leaving the stage to marry her rich fiancee, Cliff Wyatt (D.W. Moffett), an aspiring politician. When a backstage prank goes horribly wrong and Cliff shoots Myra’s mentor, Myra inadvertently captures the killing in a series of photographs. Distraught, Myra flees the country and crosses into Mexico. Cliff, meanwhile, sets about trying to locate her and get his hands on the photos which could jeopardize his fledgling political career.

Myra is accompanied in Mexico by Alex Ross (Russell Crowe), a handsome, boozy, world-weary American reporter, who has been hired by Cliff to keep an eye on Myra. Together, they head to the Mayan heartland, where Myra is indoctrinated into Mayan sorcery. Myra uses her newfound powers to get even with Alex for his betrayal and to change her life with Cliff.