Layer Cake (also occasionally stylised as L4YER CAKƐ on some poster artwork) is a 2004 British crime film directed by Matthew Vaughn, in his directorial debut. The screenplay was adapted by J. J. Connolly from his 2000 novel of the same name. The film's plot revolves around a London-based criminal, played by Daniel Craig, who works in the cocaine trade and wishes to leave the drug business. The film also features Tom Hardy, Colm Meaney, and Sienna Miller. Craig's character is unnamed in the film and is listed in the credits as "XXXX." The film was produced by Adam Bohling, David Reid and Matthew Vaughn, with Stephen Marks as executive producer. The title refers to the social strata, especially in the British criminal underworld. Plot The protagonist XXXX (otherwise unnamed) is a London cocaine distributor who abhors violence and operates with the care and professionalism of a legitimate businessman. His chief associates are his enforcer and partner Morty, and Gene, an Irish gangster who serves as his liaison to mob boss Jimmy Price. Just as XXXX is ready to retire from criminal life, he is summoned to a lunch meeting with Jimmy, who gives him two tasks. The first is to track down Charlie, the drug-addicted runaway daughter of one of Price's associates. XXXX enlists the con men Cody and Tiptoes to find her; they learn that Charlie has apparently been kidnapped, but are unable to discover who abducted her. The second task is for XXXX to oversee the purchase of one million ecstasy tablets from the "Duke", a low-level criminal who recently returned to London from Amsterdam with his girlfriend Slasher and crew of thugs led by his right-hand man Gazza. Unbeknownst to XXXX, the Duke and his crew have stolen the pills from a gang of Serbian war criminals. He meets the Duke's feckless nephew, Sidney, and finds himself attracted to his girlfriend Tammy. XXXX tries to broker the sale of the pills to Liverpool gangsters Trevor and Shanks but they refuse, informing him of their origin and that the vengeful Serbians have sent the assassin Dragan to recover the pills and kill the thieves. As the Duke had mentioned his name to the Serbians, XXXX is also a target. XXXX arranges a tryst with Tammy but is kidnapped and brought to Eddie Temple, a wealthy crime lord. Eddie explains that Charlie is his daughter, whom he has