Detective Ray Wilkru (Colin Farrel) works in Vinci, California. He has fallen into the bottom of his life for many years. He is divorced, alcoholic and has a bad temper. He is a subordinate of local gang leader Frank Semyon (Vince Vaugh), who got rid of the man who raped Ray's wife many years ago. He does some odd jobs for Semyon, such as beating up a reporter who recently wrote a series of organized crime incidents. Wilkru's latest job is to find the whereabouts of Ben Caspere, the city executive who has been missing for several days. Ventura County Sheriff Anne Bedras (Rachel McAdams) is very successful at work, but she is alienated from her sister Athena, who is a porn anchor, and her father, who is a new religious leader. California Highway Patrol Officer Paul Woodruff (Taylor Kitsch) learned that he was suspended from work because a young woman lied that he asked her for sex before he would let her go. Late one night, a man was found dead sitting on a bench by the highway. Three police officers from different cities and different government agencies came together to investigate the case. During the investigation, they gradually discovered that the case was much more complicated than they had imagined.