A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
 
The entire movie is a “Grift” on the audience because you're going to be expecting so much more out of it and you will be greatly disappointed in the end.
 
FUN FACT:  The studio wanted Martin Scorsese to direct the film himself, but he personally chose Stephen Frears to do the job, while Scorsese stayed on as Producer.  The short opening narration is  also done by Martin Scorsese.