A blue-collar mechanic and a retired mob boss go head to head in an increasingly antagonistic annual Fourth of July fireworks competition. The tale is set in small-town rural Maine, where local good ol' boy Alden McCausland (Franco) strikes up a rivalry with retired mob boss Nicky Serrano when Nicky moves in across the lake from Alden and his mother. When Nicky bests Alden's Fourth of July fireworks show, Alden goes to great lengths to ensure that he beats Nicky the next year in a competition known henceforth as the "Fourth of July Arms Race."