杰瑞（杰克·尼科尔森 Jack Nicholson 饰）是一位精明强干的警官，在他任职期间，一桩非常恶劣的幼女谋杀案轰动了整个业界。在死去的女孩的母亲的强烈哀求之下，杰瑞加班加点的追查案件的各种线索，终于在结案之前逮捕了名叫托比（本尼西奥·德尔·托罗 Benicio Del Toro 饰）的嫌犯。最终，托比被判有罪锒铛入狱。
　　虽然案件看似告终，但杰瑞的内心里始终觉得有一些不对劲，他来到了案发地内达华州的一座小镇内，买下了路边的一间加油站，驻扎在此地继续寻找线索。在此过程中，他结识了单身母亲洛瑞（罗宾·莱特 Robin Wright 饰）和她的女儿。

London. Jarvis Dolan is a charismatic host of a radio show named "The Grim Reality", about news and actuality. Loudmouth, fun and ruthless in his speeches and ments, Jarvis is the most important radio star of the moment, entertaining the audience throughout the early morning with his intelligent programs on hot topics. Previous the job, Dolan is required by his boss Norman Burgess to have a brief talk about the fate of the program by the recent poor ratings, that reporting Dolan to accept to his former partner, Andrew Wilde, as co-host, in an attempt to improvement the show. Going they two to the studio, Wilde meets Dolan's assistants, Anthony and Claire, who work making the show behind the micros. But when Dolan tries to start the program while he waits for Wilde, who had to go out a little before to back more later, he finds suddenly trapped by the circumstances: two masked men have assaulted the radio station at gunpoint and kidnapped Anthony and Claire, making him to keep the ...