Drug dealer Frank experiences the worst week of his life when a heroin deal goes wrong and he ends up heavily in debt to Balkan drug lord Milo. 

Frank struggles to repay the money, while the pressure from the ruthless drug lord only increases. His growing desperation spirals out of control when nothing goes according to plan and Frank has to face the terrible consequences of his self-inflicted predicament.

When Pusher was released in 1996, the film's portrayal of Copenhagen's underworld was so raw and realistic that there were persistent rumours that the then largely unknown cast had actually used drugs on set. Things are different now: lead actor Mads Mikkelsen, who made his debut in Pusher, is now one of the greatest European actors of his generation. Director Nicolas Winding Refn was only 25 years old and a self-taught filmmaker when he established his reputation in one fell swoop with Pusher in 1996.