The Usual Suspects tells the story of Roger "Verbal" Kint (Spacey), a small-time con man, who is in a police interrogation, and who tells his interrogator, U.S. Customs Agent David Kujan (Palminteri), a convoluted story about events leading to a massacre and massive fire that have just taken place on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro Bay. Using flashback and narration, Verbal's story becomes increasingly complex as he tries to explain why he and his partners-in-crime were on that boat, but not everything is as it seems.